Cristiano Ronaldo moved closer to the remarkable 1,000 career goal milestone after scoring in Al Nassr’s 3 to 1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday.
The 41 year old Portuguese forward found the net in the 42nd minute at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh, taking his combined goals for club and country to 981. He now needs just 19 more goals to reach the historic landmark.
Al Nassr had taken the lead through Angelo Gabriel in the 33rd minute before Ronaldo doubled the advantage nine minutes later.
The goal came from a well coordinated attacking move. Sadio Mane delivered a looping cross from the left, which Aiman Yahya controlled with his chest and directed into Ronaldo’s path. The Portuguese captain made no mistake, firing a low shot into the bottom corner to extend his side’s lead before the break.
However, the match did not begin as scheduled. Kick off was delayed by approximately one hour following a security alert issued by Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence. The delay came amid security concerns linked to missile threats from Yemen based Houthi rebels.
Once the match got underway, Al Nassr gradually established control and went into half time with a comfortable two goal advantage.
Neftchi Fergana returned from the break with renewed determination and reduced the deficit six minutes into the second half. Alisher Odilov scored to make it 2 to 1, giving the visitors hope of mounting a comeback.
Their chances of recovering a point suffered a major setback in the 65th minute when Ikromjon Alibaev was shown a red card for a foul on Mohamed Simakan.
Al Nassr took advantage of their numerical superiority and sealed the victory in the 78th minute when Neftchi defender Anvarjon Gofurov inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, making it 3 to 1.
The victory provided a timely boost for Al Nassr after their disappointing start to the continental campaign. The Saudi Arabian club had lost their opening match 4 to 0 against UAE side Al Ain and needed a positive result to get their campaign back on track.
Ronaldo had also arrived at the fixture in good scoring form, having netted his 980th career goal during Al Nassr’s 3 to 0 Saudi Pro League victory over Diriyah on Friday.
In that encounter at Al Awwal Park, he opened the scoring in the 23rd minute by converting a rebound after goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah had parried an effort from Kingsley Coman.
The latest strike against Neftchi Fergana further underlines Ronaldo’s determination to reach 1,000 career goals, a milestone that would add another remarkable achievement to his already decorated football career.
The five time Ballon d’Or winner continues to pursue the record while helping Al Nassr compete for domestic and continental honours. With 981 goals now to his name, attention will remain on how quickly the veteran forward can close the remaining gap and reach one of the most talked about milestones in modern football.
