Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 979th career goal as Al Nassr bounced back from their recent defeat to beat Abha 2-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Wednesday at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
The victory marked a swift response from the defending champions following their only defeat of the season so far — a 2-1 loss away to Al-Ittihad four days earlier.
Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a trademark header. The 41-year-old rose above his marker to meet Ângelo’s corner near the six-yard box before directing a powerful downward header past Abha goalkeeper Donovan Léon and into the far corner.
The goal was Ronaldo’s third of the 2026-27 Saudi Pro League campaign in five appearances and his 132nd for Al Nassr since joining the club.
More significantly, it moved his official career tally to 979 goals, leaving him just 21 goals away from the historic 1,000-goal mark — a milestone no player has reached in competitive senior football.
Ronaldo’s pursuit of the landmark has taken on added significance after the veteran recently hinted that the current campaign could be his final season as a professional.
At his current scoring rate, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has a realistic chance of reaching the milestone through Al Nassr’s remaining Saudi Pro League fixtures, the King’s Cup and the AFC Champions League Elite, as well as potential appearances for Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.
Al Nassr dominated proceedings against newly promoted Abha, enjoying around 67 per cent possession and creating the better chances throughout the contest.
They doubled their advantage in the 58th minute when Abdullah Al-Hamdan moved into the box and fired a right-footed effort from the centre of the area into the net.
Abha threatened a late comeback after Nabil Fekir pulled one back with a free-kick in the 75th minute. However, Al Nassr held on to secure all three points when the referee brought the game to an end around the 93rd minute.
The result takes Al Nassr to 15 points from six matches, with five wins and one defeat, leaving them second in the Saudi Pro League table with a +9 goal difference.
Abha, meanwhile, remain near the bottom of the standings with just one point from their opening six games.
Ronaldo completed the full 90 minutes as he continued to lead the attack for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Al Nassr will return to action on September 12 when they travel to face Al-Khaleej, with Ronaldo aiming to continue his remarkable scoring run as he closes in on the 1,000-goal milestone.
