The Portuguese superstar and his teammates completed a sensational comeback in Friday’s epic league encounter.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr secured a thrilling 3-1 win over bottom-placed Al-Batin in the Saudi Pro League on Friday and the manner in which they pulled off the comeback has turned a lot of heads on social media. Despite the Portuguese star failing to get on the scoresheet, his fought back from the brink of a shock home defeat by scoring thrice inside the 12 minutes of additional time.
The league encounter began with Al-Batin taking an early lead through Renzo Lopez in the 17th minute. Al Nassr when then forced to fight back in the hope of getting an equalizer before the break and it was Ronaldo who came close. However, the former Manchester United forward saw his effort cleared off the line.
As the match seemed to be heading towards a shock win for Al-Batin, the referee awarded a massive 12 minutes for stoppages, providing Al-Nassr with an opportunity to stage a comeback. Abdulrahman Ghareeb was the first to score for the hosts inside the first minute of additional time. Just two minutes later, Mohammed Al Fatil put Al-Nassr ahead with a close-range finish. Mohammed Maran then scored the third in the dying moments of the game to complete a stunning comeback.
Ronaldo looked nailed-on to score his ninth Saudi Pro League goal of the season after he had dribbled around the Al-Batin keeper in the 34th minute of Friday’s game.
But Al-Yousef raced back and got to the ball just before it reached the goal.
In the aftermath of the game, fans and pundits alike took to Twitter to express their shock and amazement at the late drama in the match. While some praised Al-Nassr’s fighting spirit and hailed the team’s incredible comeback, others were mostly concerned about the hefty injury-time that gave Ronaldo and his teammates a lifeline in the game.
Meanwhile, the win sees Al-Nassr return to the top of the Saudi Pro League table, with 46 points from 19 matches, two points ahead of second-placed Al-Ittihad. Al-Batin, on the other hand, remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just 10 points from 19 matches.
Here are a few reactions from fans on Twitter:
