Cristiano Ronaldo scores controversial goal for Al-Nassr as smoke blinds goalkeeper | OneFootball

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal in the most controversial of fashions as Al-Nassr beat Al-Ahli 4-3 on Friday night. The two sides met in the Saudi Pro League, and it was an entertaining affair, with seven goals to boot, but it was the Portuguese star who scored the most absurd one of the night.

The former Manchester United man has been scintillating so far this season, with seven goals and four assists heading into the contest, and he continued his fine form with a brace against Al-Ahli. His first goal, though, just four minutes into the game will be one of the most controversial of his career. You'd be hard-pressed to find a goal scored by the star that's quite as unusual as this one.

Why was Cristiano Ronaldo's goal controversial?

Just four minutes into Al-Nassr's match with Al-Ahli, Ronaldo opened the scoring under wild circumstances. Breaking through on goal, the Portuguese superstar burst into the box and dragged his shot across the face of the goal and into the bottom corner past Edouard Mendy. Now, that doesn't really sound too controversial, does it?

The issue is, we're not entirely sure the former Chelsea goalkeeper even saw the ball coming as he was completely engulfed in smoke after fans threw something onto the pitch. Mendy was clearly blinded by the stuff and had no idea what was happening as Ronaldo hit the back of the net.

It was a wild sequence of events and, coming so early in the contest, really set the tone for the rest of the match. Just look at footage of the goal below, poor Mendy didn't stand a chance, and many fans couldn't believe what they were watching.

Under normal circumstances, play is usually brought to a halt when outside interference such as smoke and flares make their way onto the pitch and hinder eyesight, but that wasn't the case this time. With that being said, it's quite impressive that Ronaldo managed to find the bottom corner of the goal considering it was clouded by the smoke.

How did the rest of the game play out?

Ronaldo's early goal certainly set the tone for the rest of the match, and it was an entertaining game that saw seven goals in total. The fans definitely got their money's worth, even if many couldn't actually see what was going on during that first goal. After the former Real Madrid man opened the scoring, his teammate Anderson Talisca doubled Al-Nassr's lead in the 17th minute. Franck Kessie pulled one back for the visitors before Talisca regained the two-goal lead for his side.

A Riyad Mahrez penalty once again reduced the deficit for Al-Ahli shortly after the restart, but any hope was short-lived as Ronaldo completed his brace just a couple of minutes later to once again extend Al-Nassr's lead to two. A late strike from substitute Firas Al-Birakan proved to be nothing but a consolation prize as the home side emerged victorious in what was one of the most star-studded match-ups in the entire Saudi Pro League. Still, that first goal was pretty dodgy.