Cristiano Ronaldo was pleased to have put on a show after his two goals inspired Al Nassr to a 3-1 win at Al Gharafa in the AFC Champions League last night.
Ronaldo’s brace – the 912th and 913th goals of his remarkable career – put the Saudi Arabian club on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages with just two more points required from their last three games.
The Portuguese scored either side of an Angelo Gabriel strike to the delight of the 37,000 crowd – 12 percent of Qatar’s population – that had made the 30-mile journey to Al Bayt from capital Doha.
Former Real Madrid striker Joselu pulled one back late on for the hosts but it was Ronaldo who stole the show.
Full time!! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HhM0X7Xsbd
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) November 25, 2024
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Motivated by fans
“It’s still my motivation to make my fans happy, especially kids as I have a few kids of my own at home,” Ronaldo told Al Jazeera.
“The passion that children have is genuine. They love football so I just try to do my best [for them]. We have a lot of fans of all ages supporting us, I am very happy to score and make them happy.”
Al Nassr have now won three of their last four games in all competitions and Ronaldo, who has yet to claim any silverware since moving to Saudi in 2022, confirmed he was more focused on team success that individual accolades.
913 🐐
AND COUNTING…… https://t.co/YVnqG4JToe pic.twitter.com/sj1CT5JOEn— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) November 25, 2024
Win the most important thing – Ronaldo
He added: “Goals are good, of course, but the most important thing is to win. For me, the most important thing is Al Nassr’s victory.
“Al Gharafa are a good team and the reason for our victory was the organisation of our team. My first and last objective is to win. Goals come after teamwork and my focus is always on scoring and winning. If the team wins, I’m happy and I dedicate the victory to the fans, the club and Ronaldo’s fans.
“We created chances in the first half, but we couldn’t score. In the second half, the team made some adjustments and the goals came.”
Al Nassr are third in the Pro League and will hope to move closer to leaders Al Ittihad when they host Damac on Friday.
