Al-Hatreeq 67 brings Ronaldo closer to 1,000th goal
Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat-trick for Al-Nassr, raising his tally to 985 goals and nearing the 1,000-goal milestone in a match against Al-Khaleej.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is closing in on his 1,000th career goal after scoring a hat-trick as his club, Al-Nassr, defeated their visitors, Al-Khaleej, in the Saudi Pro League. With this hat-trick, Ronaldo increased his career tally to 985 goals across all the clubs he has played for, as well as the Portuguese national team, leaving him just 15 goals away from reaching the landmark 1,000th goal.
The Al-Nassr captain shone in the match, netting his three goals within a 15-minute span. He scored his first and third goals for Al-Nassr in the 66th minute, before adding two more in the 72nd and 81st minutes.
Al-Khaleej had taken the lead through Julian Domingues in the 16th minute, but Angelo Gabriel equalized for Al-Nassr in the 24th. Sadio Mane put Al-Nassr ahead in the 38th minute, only for Antoine Isoumba to level the score for Al-Khaleej in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, ending the half at 2-2.
In the second half, Ronaldo scored his hat-trick before Domingues returned to net his second and Al-Khaleej’s third goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
This hat-trick marks Ronaldo’s 67th of his career. The Portuguese forward took to his personal Instagram account to write: “A great win and an outstanding team performance. I’m happy to have contributed with three goals.”
Ronaldo had previously indicated that this season could be his last as a player if he succeeds in reaching the 1,000-goal milestone. He has scored 146 international goals for Portugal, making him the all-time top scorer for national teams worldwide. Ronaldo has made 234 appearances for Portugal since his debut in 2003.
