Cristiano Ronaldo increased his league tally to eight goals after a first-half hat-trick helped Al-Nassr beat Damac.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his dominance of the Saudi Pro League as a first-half hat-trick helped Al-Nassr sweep aside weak opponents Damac FC, winning 3-0.
Damac hosted Al-Nassr at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium as they tried to hold off Ronaldo-led Knights of Najd. The 38-year-old proved to be too much for Faris Al-Jabub to handle, as his hat-trick saw Al-Nassr pass him.
The win sent Al-Nassr back to the top of the Saudi Professional League, beating Al-Ittihad, who knocked them out of the league cup a few weeks ago. Damac continue to sit outside the top six and level on points with the bottom two teams.
How did it happen?
Cristiano Ronaldo put Al Nassr ahead in the 18th minute from the penalty spot. In the 23rd minute, he doubled Al-Nassr’s lead by expertly connecting to Al Ghannam’s cross before unleashing a powerful shot with his left foot, burying the ball into the bottom left corner to beat Moustapha Zeghba.
The Portugal international grabbed his first-half hat-trick in the 44th minute after a failed Damac strike led to a counterattack for the visitors. Ayman Yahya took a hit in the home side’s half before releasing the ball to Ronaldo, who was unmarked on the right. The Portuguese receives the ball in his path and tilts his body just right before sending the ball to the far side of the goalkeeper.
Al-Nassr continued to push for a bigger score, but couldn’t, and Ronaldo’s first-half hat-trick was the score of the day.