Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace to help Al-Nassr return to winning ways in the Saudi Pro League as the side beat Damac 2-0 at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on Friday.
The Al-Nassr skipper continued his fine goalscoring form after he also bagged a brace in the side’s 3-1 win over Al-Gharafa in the AFC Champions League.
It was in the 17th minute that the Portuguese opened the scoring after he converted from the penalty spot to put his side ahead. Damac defender Abdelkader Bedrane handled the ball inside the box which prompted the referee to point to the spot.
The host continued its search for a second in the first half but half-time came with Ronaldo’s goal from the spot as the difference between the two sides.
In the second half, Bedrane was given marching orders after he saw red in the 56th minute for a crunching tackle on Mohamed Simakan.
Down to 10 men, Damac’s defence was more easily probed by Al-Nassr which resulted in Ronaldo bagging his second. Nawaf Boushal, with an overlapping run down the left-flank, cut back to find his captain, who smashed it into the net with his left foot.
With this win, Al-Nassr remained in third place on the points table but reduced its deficit from the top to five points.
