Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 981st career goal as Al-Nassr beat Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana 3-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday night at Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh.
The 41-year-old struck in the 42nd minute to double Al-Nassr’s lead. Sadio Mane floated a cross from the left, substitute Ayman Yahya chested it into Ronaldo’s path, and the forward turned and fired low past goalkeeper Botirali Ergashev.
The goal leaves Ronaldo 19 short of the historic 1,000-goal mark. “Important win tonight. We keep building,” he wrote on Instagram after the game.
Angelo Gabriel had opened the scoring in the 33rd minute from Nawaf Boushal’s cutback. Neftchi pulled one back through Alisher Odilov in the 51st minute after a Boushal error, but their comeback stalled when Ikromjon Alibaev was sent off in the 65th minute for a foul on Mohamed Simakan. An own goal by Anvarjon Gofurov in the 78th minute sealed the win.
The match was delayed by an hour after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued a security alert shortly before kick-off. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Fans remained in the stadium while clearance was given.
It was Al-Nassr’s first win in this season’s Champions League Elite after a 4-0 loss to Al-Ain in Matchday 1.
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