Ronaldo scores twice as Al Nassr beat Al Najma 5-2

Riyadh: Cristiano Ronaldo returned from a month-long injury absence and scored twice in the second half as Al Nassr extended their winning streak with a 5-2 victory over bottom-placed Al Najma in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

The Portugal forward had been out since February. He missed Al Nassr’s previous two league fixtures and was also unavailable for Portugal’s friendly matches against Mexico and the United States last month.

Al Najma, who have managed only one win in 27 league matches, went ahead just before the interval when Rakan Al Tulayhi scored in the 44th minute. Al Nassr, however, turned the game around in first-half stoppage time through goals from Abdullah Al Hamdan and Sadio Mane.

The visitors restored parity two minutes into the second half when Felippe Cardoso found the net. Al Nassr moved back in front in the 56th minute after Ronaldo converted from the penalty spot. The 41-year-old struck again in the 73rd minute to strengthen his side’s lead before Mane added another in stoppage time to complete the scoring.

The result gave Al Nassr their 13th straight league win. They remain at the top of the table with 70 points from 27 matches, six points ahead of second-placed Al Hilal, who are due to face Al Taawoun on Saturday.

Al-Ittihad edge Al-Hazem despite red card

Earlier on Friday, Al-Ittihad recorded a 1-0 home win over Al-Hazem even though Moussa Diaby was sent off in the 34th minute. After a penalty appeal was overturned by VAR in the 66th minute, the defending Saudi Pro League champions broke the deadlock six minutes later through Abdulrahman Al-Obud.

Al-Ittihad are now sixth in the standings with 45 points from 27 games. Al-Hazem are 10th with 31 points from the same number of matches.

Al-Kholood and Khaleej share points

In Friday’s other match, Al-Kholood and Khaleej Club played out a 2-2 draw. Guga opened the scoring for Al-Kholood in the ninth minute, while Khaleej equalised through a Konstantinos Fortounis penalty in the 18th minute.

Abdulaziz Al-Elewai put Al-Kholood back in front in the 37th minute, but Khaleej secured a point when Giorgos Masouras scored their second equaliser in the 85th minute. Following the draw, Al-Kholood are 14th in the table, while Khaleej sit 10th.