Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead Al Nassr to a 2-1 return victory against Al Riyadh, keeping his hopes of Saudi title de la Saudi. Al Nassr’s head coach Stefano Pioli retaliated with criticism after the match, praising the leadership and the form of Ronaldo.
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Cristiano Ronaldo once again proven why he was always considered one of the best in the game, because he scored twice for Al Nassr to inspire a crucial victory back 2-1 against Al Riyad in the Saudi Pro League on Sunday evening. His performance maintained the hopes of the life of the life team. After the match, Al Nassr’s head coach Stefano Pioli responded to the Critics of the Portuguese legend.
Playing at home, Al Nassr was dominant in the first half, but took place at the break after Al Riyadh took the lead just before half-time. Despite the reverse, Al Nassr came out with a renewed intention after restarting. In the 55th minute, Sadio Mane perfectly passed the ball through the goal, and Ronaldo was right to type it easily and mark the equalizer.
What followed nine minutes later was a moment of shine. After an initial authorization of an al Riyadh defender, the ball fell in Ronaldo by the box. The 40 -year -old man pulled a first volley without hesitation who exploded in the upper corner, leaving the goalkeeper without luck. The strike sealed three points for the hosts.
Thanks to victory, Al Nassr remained third in the Saudi classification of Saudi Pro League with 57 points, only one behind Arch-Rival Al Hilal. However, the leaders of the Al Ittihad League are still seven clear points, with only nine games to play.
Pioli defends Ronaldo in the midst of increasing criticisms
During his post-match press conference, head coach Stefano Pioli took the opportunity to silence the skeptics by questioning Ronaldo’s performance.
“Cristiano Ronaldo helped us build this team as a group leader. I can’t talk about their performance on the field – what you saw today is the best answer to its detractors,” said Pioli The Nassr zone.
“It was a complicated match and we did not reach all of our goals. But it is good that we have created so many opportunities. We will continue to work and improve, with the ambition to win every match for our fans,” he added.
Ronaldo’s Brace won his count at seven goals in the last five games in all competitions. Meanwhile, Al Nassr is now hoping for slippages at the top of the Saudi point table of the Saudi Pro League to keep their life dream.
