GiveMeSport
·24 October 2023
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·24 October 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two brilliant goals in Al-Nassr’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League group encounter with Al-Duhail SC on Tuesday evening. The Portuguese international notched his side’s third and fourth goals of the night as he added to strikes by Anderson Talisca and Sadio Mane, which were netted in the 25th and 56th minute, respectively.
Known as Mr. Champions League in Europe’s most prestigious competition, Ronaldo is transcending his dominance into a new continent and to do so with such ease just proves what a fantastic footballer he continues to be as he edges towards four decades on the planet.
With such poise and vintage Ronaldo power, the forward picked up the ball just outside the 18-yard box, with all eyes on goal. Shifting it onto his weaker foot, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner ensured to latch perfectly onto the ball as it stormed towards the top corner.
Al-Duhail SC’s goalkeeper Salah Zakaria was left flailing his arms in an attempt to meet the thunderous strike, though it would have taken one of the sport’s greatest to be equal to such a strike from the Saudi Pro League trailblazer. You can watch footage of the immense strike below - and just admit how easy to forget that he is 38 years of age...
The brilliance of the former Real Madrid ace continued to spill out as, just 20 minutes following his first strike of the night, he managed to pull another stunner of his ever-growing bag of tricks.
A delicate ball over the opposition defence landed perfectly in his vicinity as he made a beeline into the box. A well-rehearsed finish - that can only be replicated by the very elite - beckoned as he notched his second of the night to provide his side a two-goal lead.
The 38-year-old, once again with his weaker foot, thumped it past a hapless Zakaria, who was left rooted to the spot with a half-hearted flick of the leg his first thought in order to cancel out the driven strike. But there was no stopping that - just take a look for yourself below.
Four points adrift of top spot in the talent-enriched Saudi Arabian topflight, Ronaldo will be hoping to continue his fine goalscoring form into domestic proceedings as they look to close the gap with table-topping Al-Hilal.
Former Fulham hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has been leading the line for Al-Hilal, has started the new campaign brightly, with seven goals to his name. However, he is far from knocking Ronaldo off his perch, who has chalked up 11 goals, three from the spot kick, in the inaugural 10 games of the new term.
For Portugal, the net-busting striker has been vital in their flawless run in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, having scored nine goals in eight appearances - just behind Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, who is leading the race with one extra goal on 10.
Having already booked a place in the 2024 edition of the European championships in Germany, Ronaldo and his compatriots will be hoping to finish group stage proceedings on a positive note as they look to replicate their heroics seen seven years ago against France.