Saudi Arabia Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo received the highest score of the match despite not scoring, as Al Nassr was held to a 1-1 draw by Al Khaleej in round 26 of the Saudi League.
Scorers: Gonzalez 17 - Martins 4
According to Sofascore statistics right after the match, Ronaldo was given 8.0 points, the highest score of the match. He finished eight times, successfully dribbled twice and created two good chances for his teammates. However, Al Nassr only earned one point against the team ranked third from the bottom. The team's chance of winning the championship is even narrower, as they are at risk of being five points behind Al Ittihad with only four rounds left.
Ronaldo missed a chance in the 1-1 draw with Al Khaleej. Photo: AlNassr
Ronaldo's form has dropped as he has scored just one goal in his last five matches. However, the 38-year-old striker was more active in this match, and created trouble for the visitors' goal, especially in the second half. In the 80th minute, he received the ball on the left side of the penalty area, did his usual footwork and then turned to curl the ball into the far corner. The visitors' goalkeeper stood still as the ball missed the post by inches. In the seventh minute of injury time in the second half, Ronaldo jumped high to head the ball for centre-back Abdulelah Al Amri to shoot from close range, but the ball still missed the target.
The Al Nassr captain put the ball in the visitors' net in the 58th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. He had two more free-kick opportunities but either hit the wall or missed the goal. In the 88th minute, when an Al Nassr player was hit in the face by a visiting defender, Ronaldo rushed to put pressure on the referee, claiming that the opponent had elbowed him. However, the referee did not award the home team a penalty.
Al Nassr continued their inconsistent run, winning just one of their last four games. They even conceded an open goal to Al Khaleej in the fourth minute. However, centre-back Alvaro Gonzalez equalised for the home team, drawing 1-1.
Despite not scoring and losing points, Ronaldo remained calm after the final whistle. He even stayed on the pitch to chat with the visiting players, and exchanged shirts with his compatriot Fabio Martins - who scored the opening goal in the match. Only then did the home team captain head into the tunnel.
Al Khaleej were second to last two rounds ago, but they have now risen to 14th place out of 16 teams in the Saudi League. According to the Opta Power Rankings, which evaluates teams around the world, Al Khaleej are currently on 68.5 points, roughly the same as Hanoi FC.
In the next match on the evening of May 16, Al Nassr will face a more difficult opponent, Al Tai - the team currently ranked seventh.
Hoang An
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