Cristiano Ronaldo reignited Al Nassr’s Saudi Pro League title bid with a match-winning display against Al Raed in Riyadh on Friday night.
The Portuguese star, without a goal in his past three matches, took only four minutes to open the scoring at Mrsool Park as Nassr sealed a first victory in four fixtures.
Ronaldo, the Nassr captain, then had a significant hand in his side's second, struck 10 minutes into the second half by Abdulrahman Ghareeb. Substitutes Mohammed Maran and Abdulmajeed Al Sulaiheem completed the scoring in the final minutes.
The 4-0 win keeps alive the nine-time Saudi champions’ hopes of clinching a first top-flight crown since 2019. Nassr sit second in the table, three points behind Al Ittihad with five matches remaining. Ittihad, however, have a game in hand.
Reports in Spain this week claimed Ronaldo, 38, was unhappy with his first four months in Saudi Arabia and seeking a return to Europe. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Nassr in late December, said to be worth more than $200 million per year.
The former Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid forward was therefore always going to command the majority of attention on Friday.
Looking to bounce back from Monday’s shock King’s Cup semi-final exit to Al Wehda, Nassr raced out of the blocks against Raed.
Not long into the match, the ball was cleared only partially to Nassr full-back Sultan Al Ghannam, who crossed invitingly for Ronaldo to head home - his 11th goal in 12 league matches.
In first-half injury-time, Ronaldo rounded goalkeeper Silviu Lung but ran the ball too wide before pulling back for Ahmed Yahya to blaze over. Roanldo, though, had been flagged offside.
At the beginning of the second half, Nassr had to survive a serious scare, when Raed forward Karim El Berkaoui somehow headed over when unmarked.
Minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage. This time, Ronaldo rose high to knock down Luis Gustavo’s deep cross, leaving Yahya to roll to Ghareeb, who supplied a cool finish.
Ronaldo soon claimed vociferously for a penalty when he appeared to have been tripped inside the Raed area. The referee waved away his protests, much to Ronaldo’s obvious irritation. The Mrsool Park crowd promptly chanted his name in unison.
Ronaldo should really have then had a second goal 15 minutes from time, but his close-range effort was blocked for a corner.
Nassr did swell the scoreline in the closing stages, first after fine work from Jaloliddin Masharipov teed up Maran to slot home. It was left to Al Sulaiheem to score the goal of the game, the midfielder exchanging passes with Masharipov before curling a superb effort into the top corner from the edge of the Raed area.
Crucially, the victory will give Nassr a huge boost going into the final month of the campaign, especially following back-to-back defeats in key matches: the Riyadh derby against Al Hilal and the cup loss to Wehda.
Still with interim manager Dinko Jelicic in charge – Frenchman Rudi Garcia parted company with the club earlier this month – Nassr are next in action on May 8, at home in the league to second-from-bottom Al Khaleej.
Before that, Ittihad travel to sixth-placed Al Taawoun on Wednesday, with Ronaldo and teammates surely hoping the Jeddah side, riding a six-match win streak in the league, drop points.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%3A%20Zywa%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202021%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Nuha%20Hashem%20and%20Alok%20Kumar%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20UAE%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%243m%3Cbr%3ECompany%20valuation%3A%20%2430m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
