Ronaldo nets last-minute penalty to clinch victory for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League

Al-Shabab lost a subsequent chance to equalise, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s last-minute penalty gave Al-Nassr a vital victory and kept them in the running for the championship.

Ronaldo had again demonstrated his importance to the Saudi team Al-Nassr. The Portuguese star gave his team a big advantage on Friday by handling the pressure and spectacularly converting a penalty in the closing seconds. Al-Shabab had a chance to tie the score shortly after, but they missed the penalty, hence Al-Nassr won.

With this victory, Al-Nassr remains well behind Al-Hilal, the leaders of the Saudi Pro League. Al-Nassr needed this victory to stay in the title battle against tough opponents like Al-Shabab, who were only two points behind, and Ronaldo made sure they did.

In a fiercely contested first half with few obvious opportunities, Al-Nassr had the initiative. Al-Nassr didn’t take the lead until twenty-four minutes into the second half, when Aymeric Laporte scored with a left-footed shot following a corner and some confusion in the area.

But the benefit didn’t last long. Al-Shabab equalised in the 90th minute as replacement Ali Al-Hassan unintentionally scored an own goal while attempting to clear a cross from Nawaf Al-Sadi.

Even after the late loss, Al-Nassr persisted in trying to find a winner. When Abdulrahman Ghareeb was fouled in stoppage time and awarded a penalty, their perseverance paid off. Ronaldo stepped up and converted the spot-kick with composure.

The game continued even after 97 minutes had gone by. A VAR check resulted in a penalty for Al-Shabab’s final attack.

But unlike Ronaldo, Abderrazak Hamdallah of Al-Shabab missed the penalty and struck the post, allowing Al-Nassr to maintain their hard-earned triumph.

Despite Neymar Jr.’s absence, Al-Hilal easily defeated Al-Fayha 3-0 to take the lead in the Saudi Pro League with 21 points after seven straight victories. With 17 points, Al-Nassr is currently in second place, followed by Al-Ittihad, led by Karim Benzema, who has 15 points with one game remaining against Al-Qadisiyah.