Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo moved a step closer to the mythical 1,000 professional goal barrier after scoring his 981st career goal in Al Nassr's 3-1 victory over Uzbek outfit Neftchi Fargona in the second round of the AFC Champions League on Monday.
Playing at King University Stadium, the Saudi Arabian club bounced back emphatically from their opening match 4-0 defeat against Al Ain. Al Nassr suffered an early setback in the 15th minute when Kingsley Coman was forced off with a muscle injury, bringing Ayman Yahya onto the pitch. Ângelo Gabriel opened the scoring in the 30th minute following a Nawaf Boushal assist, beating goalkeeper Botirali Ergashev. Just before halftime, Yahya set up Ronaldo, who finished calmly to double Al Nassr's lead and bring his career tally to 981 goals—leaving him just 19 shy of 1,000.
Although Alisher Odilov pulled one back for Fargona in the second half, an own goal by Anvarjon Gofurov sealed the 3-1 win 15 minutes before full-time. The goal marks Ronaldo's second consecutive scoring performance for his club, putting aside recent controversy and a temporary suspension by the Portuguese Football Federation after departing the national team camp early following a dispute with Portugal's manager before their Denmark fixture.
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