Cristiano Ronaldo found the net for the 981st time in his career on Monday, helping Al-Nassr beat Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana 3-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite.
In the 42nd minute, the 41-year-old Portuguese forward scored to extend Al-Nassr’s advantage to two goals.
That followed Angelo Gabriel’s opening goal in the 33rd minute at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Reuters reports that Ronaldo’s goal came after Sadio Mane sent in a looping cross from the left, which Aiman Yahya chested into the forward’s path before he struck the ball into the bottom corner.
“The 41-year-old struck after Sadio Mane delivered a looping cross from the left that Aiman Yahya directed into Ronaldo’s path with his chest, and the Portuguese forward lashed the ball into the bottom corner with a shot on the turn,” Reuters reported.
That goal brought Ronaldo’s career tally to 981, putting him 19 goals away from the 1,000-goal landmark.
The match started roughly an hour late after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued a security alert just before the scheduled kick-off.
According to Reuters, the postponement came amid security worries over missile threats from Yemen-based Houthi rebels.
Once the match finally got underway, Al-Nassr went ahead through Angelo, and Ronaldo then doubled their lead just before half-time.
Neftchi pulled one back six minutes into the second half via Alisher Odilov, but the visitors’ comeback hopes were dented when Ikromjon Alibaev was sent off in the 65th minute for a foul on Mohamed Simakan.
Al-Nassr wrapped up the win in the 78th minute when Anvarjon Gofurov scored an own goal, making the score 3-1.
With this result, Al-Nassr earned their first points of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite campaign, having lost 4-0 to UAE side Al-Ain in their opening fixture.
Ronaldo had netted his 980th career goal in Al-Nassr’s 3-0 win over Diriyah before scoring again against Neftchi.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner keeps chasing his target of 1,000 career goals for club and country.
The 41-year-old embattled Portuguese captain opened the scoring in the 23rd minute at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, pouncing on a rebound after goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah parried Kingsley Coman’s powerful effort.
