Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his return from injury to help Al-Nassr FC secure a win over Al-Najma SC in the Saudi Pro League.
The 41-year-old forward struck twice in the second half to take his tally to 23 goals in 23 league games this season.
Return after injury
Ronaldo had been sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury sustained in late February and travelled to Spain for treatment after the issue proved more serious than first expected.
The Portugal captain missed two league matches as well as international friendlies against Mexico national football team and United States men’s national soccer team.
Match turnaround
Bottom side Al-Najma stunned the visitors by taking an early lead despite having only one win in 27 league games this season.
However, Sadio Mané and Abdullah Al Hamdan scored in first-half stoppage time to give Al-Nassr the advantage at the break.
Ronaldo then converted a penalty in the 56th minute to restore his side’s lead after Al-Najma had equalised, before both he and Mané added further goals to seal the victory.
Title race
The result marked a 13th consecutive league win for Al-Nassr and extended their lead at the top of the table to six points over rivals Al-Hilal SFC.
Al-Hilal are scheduled to face Al-Taawoun FC in their next league match.
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