Ronaldo had the chance to record his second straight hat trick and 850th career goal.
Instead, he tried to let his teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb take the penalty, so he could record his first goal of the season ️
️What a selfless GOAT: Ronaldo sacrifice hat trick to help teammate score
Cristiano Ronaldo led Al-Nassr to an impressive 4-0 victory against a struggling Al-Shabab side.
The 36-year-old forward, in front of a packed Al-Awwal Park, guided Faris Najd to their second consecutive league win and third overall in various competitions.
Right from the start, the hosts asserted their dominance, and they had an opportunity to take the lead with a penalty in the 11th minute. New signing Otavio was fouled in the box, and Ronaldo confidently stepped up, converting the penalty past Seung-Gyu Kim.
This situation happened in the 62nd minute, at a time when Al Nassr was leading Al Shabab 3-0 with a double goal from Cristiano Ronaldo and another goal from Sadio Mane. Otavio’s shot touched Iago Santos’ hand and the referee blew the penalty.
Instead of stepping up to the penalty spot as usual, Ronaldo was seen holding the ball and bringing it to Abdulrahman Ghareeb for the attacking midfielder to take. Unfortunately, Ghareeb’s shot hit the post, and the subsequent kick was not recognized by the referee.
Before that, Ronaldo successfully scored two penalty kicks, including the second goal he earned himself after being fouled by the opponent in the penalty area. Between these two goals was a controversial situation when the referee canceled CR7’s header into Al Shabab’s net because he thought he pushed the opponent’s defender.
Video Ronaldo gives the ball to Ghareeb to take a penalty
Despite giving his teammates the penalty kick, Ronaldo still did not stop trying to find the third goal to complete the hat-trick. He almost did it with a header that hit the post late in the game, but in return, Sultan Al Ghannam promptly shot up to make it 4-0.
Ronaldo increased the gap with Messi after scoring twice for Al Nassr
In the previous match against Al Fateh, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Al Nassr, and provided an assist for his partner Sadio Mane to score.
Video of Ronaldo’s first goal
Thus, in only the last 2 matches, Ronaldo scored 5 goals and 2 assists for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Obviously at the age of 38, CR7 still does not stop conquering new challenges.
