"Match delayed by an hour due to missile threat" — Cristiano Ronaldo still scored... 981 career goals, just 19 away from the dream of 1,000

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'Soccer star' Cristiano Ronaldo (41, Al Nassr) did not stop scoring even in a chaotic situation.

Ronaldo started and scored in Al Nassr's home match against Nefch Fergana (Uzbekistan) in the second round of the league stage of the 2026-2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE), held at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the 13th (Korean time).

Al Nassr defeated Nefch 3-1. The team's tournament record became one win and one loss (three points).

Tension hung in the air even before the match began.

Recently, Riyadh has become a target of missiles launched by the Houthi rebels based in Yemen. On this day as well, Saudi Arabia's civil defense authorities issued a safety alert just 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff.

As a result, the match started about an hour later than scheduled.

Despite the sudden variable, Al Nassr did not waver. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Angelu Gabriel scored the opening goal with a shot that deflected off the opposing defense.

Nine minutes later, Ronaldo stepped up as the savior.

Sadio Mane delivered a high cross from the left flank, and Ayman Yahya dropped the ball with his chest. Receiving it, Ronaldo turned his body and fired a powerful shot, sending the ball into the lower corner of the goal.

It was Ronaldo's 134th goal since donning the Al Nassr jersey in January 2023, and his 981st career goal.

He is now just 19 goals away from the dream of 1,000.

Ronaldo played the full match, showing that he remains in top form.

Soccer statistics media outlet FotMob gave Ronaldo a rating of 8.1. In 90 minutes, he recorded one goal and completed 24 out of 28 passes accurately, achieving an 86% pass success rate.

He also created one chance. He attempted a total of three shots and converted one on-target shot into a goal.

Local media also paid attention to Ronaldo's record-breaking run.

Middle East media outlet Asharq Sports reported the news of Ronaldo's 981st career goal, stating that "the dream has come even closer."

The outlet explained, "The Portuguese legend continues to get closer to his personal glory of 1,000 career goals."

Ronaldo's scoring record accumulated so far is overwhelming.

He scored five goals for Sporting CP (Portugal), 145 for Manchester United (England), 450 for Real Madrid (Spain), and 101 for Juventus (Italy). He has recorded 134 goals for Al Nassr and scored 146 goals for the Portugal national team.

There was also controversy surrounding Choi Geun-e-neun (CEO)'s team.

During the September-October international break, Ronaldo left the Portugal national team camp because manager Jorge Jesus did not keep his promise to use him, and he received a temporary suspension from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).

Subsequently, Ronaldo stated via social media, "I apologize to my teammates for leaving the national team. I should not have acted that way, and all the responsibility lies with me."

Despite the controversy, Ronaldo's scoring touch did not cool down upon returning to his club.

Following a goal in the league match against Al Duhail on the 10th, he shook the net again in the ACLE match against Nefch, recording goals in two consecutive matches.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original