Ronaldo sets Saudi Pro League season goals record as Al Hilal finish unbeaten
Cristiano Ronaldo finished the Saudi Pro League on Monday by setting a new season goalscoring record.
Ronaldo scored two goals in Riyadh as Al Nasr beat Al Ittihad 4-2 to take his league tally to 35, one surpassing the record set by Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2019.
Just seconds before the end of the first half, Ronaldo, who had already had two goals ruled out for offside, caught a long pass from Mohammed Al Fateh on his chest and fired a low shot from the left of the area to open the scoring.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was ecstatic when he headed in a Marcelo Brozovic corner kick with 21 minutes remaining, before leaving the pitch five minutes later to a standing ovation from the home fans.
For Ronaldo, it brought to a close an action-packed season in which he scored four hat tricks and received one red card.
Al Nasr finished second in the league, 14 points behind local rivals Al Hilal, who won the championship more than two weeks ago and finished unbeaten through 34 rounds of the league on Monday.
Al Hilal have been stronger without Neymar, who joined from Paris Saint-Germain in August but suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in October.
Aleksandar Mitrovic came on as a substitute and scored a late goal to seal a 2-1 win over Al-Wahda to end the season. The Serbian striker, who joined from London club Fulham last summer, now has 27 league goals, second only to Ronaldo.
On their way to the title, Al Hilal recorded 34 consecutive wins across all competitions, setting a new world record for a top team.
“This has been a really great season for the team, probably the best season we've had so far,” said manager Jorge Jesus, “thanks to the incredible talent within the squad and the incredible bond that transcends interactions on and off the field.”
Al Ittihad's defeat to Al Nasr ended a disappointing season for the defending champions, with Real Madrid signing Karim Benzema struggling with injury and the Jeddah side only managing fifth place despite featuring N'Golo Kante and Fabinho in midfield, both from Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
Poor results led to Nuno Santo being sacked as manager in November, and the Portuguese tactician returned to the English Premier League a month later to take charge at Nottingham Forest.
Ronaldo still has a chance to end the season with a trophy when Al Nasr and Al Hilal meet in the King's Cup final on Friday.
