Al-Nassr have defeated Al-Akhdoud 3-0 in the 14th round of the Saudi Pro League, thanks to a sensational double from Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Riyadh giants returned to action after the international break with a home game against relegation-threatened Al-Akhdoud.
Head coach Luis Castro made some changes to his lineup and surprisingly decided to bench Sadio Mane with Abdulrahman Ghareeb starting on the wing.
A dominant start to the game saw Al-Nassr take the early lead with Sami Al-Najei putting his side ahead after 13 minutes.
A well-worked move saw right-back Sultan Al-Ghannam get his fourth assist of the campaign after squaring the ball to Al-Najei who slotted home the opening goal.
Al-Nassr nearly doubled their advantage five minutes before half-time through Anderson Talisca but his volleyed effort went inches wide.
Cristiano Ronaldo had to wait until the 77th minute to get on the scoresheet after showing quick feet to get past defenders and slot the ball into the back of the net.
The Portuguese was on target again three minutes later but this time scoring a potential goal-of-the-season contender.
With Al-Akhdoud’s goalkeeper off his line and a number of defenders to beat, Ronaldo produced a sublime chip that sailed over everyone and into the back of the net for Al-Nassr’s third of the night.
The win will boost Al-Nassr’s confidence ahead of their highly-anticipated encounter against Al-Hilal next week in the Saudi El Clasico.
But before that, they will have to face Iranian outfit Persepolis in the AFC Champions League group stages, set to take place on Tuesday, November 27th.