Al Nassr 2-0 Al Khaleej: Cristiano Ronaldo misses penalty and scores from spot on Saudi Pro League return

Cristiano Ronaldo scored and missed second-half penalties on his return after three games out as Al-Nassr beat midtable Al-Khaleej in their final home game of the Saudi Pro League season.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who had not featured in his side’s previous three matches, sent a low spot kick wide 25 minutes from time as Al-Nassr faced the prospect of going a fourth home game in all competitions without victory.

Fellow forwards Sadio Mane and Jhon Duran came to the rescue in the 75th minute when the Colombia international headed in the Senegal superstar’s cross.

Ronaldo atoned for his aberration seven minutes into added time, converting for his 24th league goal of the season and first in three appearances.

Al Nassr’s frontline deliver in @AlNassrFC_EN‘s final home game of the 2024/25 season 🔥#RoshnSaudiLeague pic.twitter.com/PymVHGQQkB

— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) May 21, 2025

Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej

Al-Nassr have had little to play for during the closing stretch of their campaign, with champions Al-Ittihad long beyond their reach and their AFC Champions League campaign ending courtesy of a 3-2 home loss against J League strugglers Kawasaki in the semi-finals on April 30.

Ronaldo was rested before the game against Kawasaki but did not directly contribute to a goal during that match or in Al-Nassr’s subsequent 3-2 home defeat against Al-Ittihad.

Ronaldo missed Al-Nassr’s 9-0 win at Al-Akhdoud on May 12 because of a “lack of readiness”, Al-Riyadh reported at the time, and he proceeded to miss their 1-1 draw at home to Al-Taawoun four days later.

Former Manchester City regular Aymeric Laporte, who joined Al-Nassr from the Cityzens for £23.6 million in August 2023 but has now been left out of their last four matches, is also said to have been training individually because of “tensions” with manager Stefano Pioli while considering several offers from clubs including Marseille, who sealed Champions League qualification and at least a top-three place in France on Saturday.

Fourth-placed Al-Nassr’s final game of the season is away to relegation-threatened Al-Fateh on May 26 (19:00).

Cristiano Ronaldo injury: ‘No problem’

Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez named the 40-year-old in his 27-man squad on Tuesday for the Nations League semi-final clash against Germany in Munich on June 4 (20:00).

Ronaldo is out of contract at Al-Nassr at the end of the season, leading to rumours of his potential departure – but Martinez shut down any speculation about his most high-profile player’s physical condition.

“Regarding Cristiano’s fitness, he is available to play,” Martinez said during the squad announcement. “There’s no problem.”

Portugal’s all-time leading scorer has remained a menace in front of goal this term, netting 33 goals in 39 matches across all competitions for Al-Nassr.

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Saudi Pro League golden boot 24/25

The winner of the golden boot last season, Ronaldo’s total puts him three ahead of Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema, Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney and Al-Shabab’s Abderrazak Hamdallah.

Julian Quinones, of Al-Qadsiah, is on 20 goals, while Al-Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic has 18 and Quinones team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is tied on 17 with Mitrovic strike partner Marcos Leonardo.

Ronaldo’s previous goal came during a 4-1 win away to Japanese side Yokohama in the AFC Champions League on April 26.

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