HAIL / RIYADH — Once again, the Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo left his mark on Al-Nassr's journey in the Saudi Professional League, scoring a goal and providing another to lead them to a 2-1 victory over Al-Tai in the eighth round of the championship. Al-Nassr dominated most of the first half, posing the greater threat from the beginning, while Al-Tai posed some danger in individual moments before Anderson Talisca managed to break the deadlock after more than half an hour of the match. Ronaldo couldn't capitalize on the chances that came his way in the first half, settling for creating the first goal and convincing his team to lead 1-0 before halftime. However, he succeeded in scoring late in the second half when his team needed it the most. Despite Al-Nassr's dominance in the second half, Virgil Miesiedjan equalized for Al-Tai 11 minutes before the end of regular time in the second half, putting Al-Nassr under pressure. However, Ronaldo scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 87th minute after his team was awarded a penalty for a handball inside the penalty area. With this victory, Al-Nassr's points rise to 18 from 8 matches. On the other hand, Al-Ittihad fell into the trap of a goalless draw with Al-Fayha in Riyadh, raising their tally to 19 points. Al-Taawoun won against Al-Hazem 3-1. Al-Taawoun took the lead through Musa Barrow in the 59th minute, before Al-Hazem equalized through Tozé from a penalty in the 72nd minute. In the 86th minute, Abdel Fattah Adam scored the second goal for Al-Taawoun, while his teammate Satam Al-Ruqi scored the third goal in the 14th minute of injury time in the second half. Al-Taawoun raised their points to 19, while Al-Hazem's tally remained at 3 points.
