'On to the next!' - Ronaldo hits 980 career goals as champions Al Nassr move joint-top

Another game, another goal for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Career goal No. 980, to be precise.

The Al Nassr captain moved another step closer to that magical 1,000-goal milestone on Friday night, setting the Roshn Saudi League champions on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory against Diriyah Club.

With it, Al Nassr dusted off the cobwebs of a three-week international break to move joint-top of the table.

Ronaldo struck midway through the first half at Al Awwal Park, before Samu Costa and Kingsley Coman completed the scoring. With a sixth victory from their eighth RSL outing in 2026-27, Ange Postecoglou's side resumed their title defence in style.

It was Ronaldo who provided the breakthrough for the hosts in the 23rd minute, reacting quickest after Coman's effort was parried by Diriyah Club goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah to fire home from close range.

The Portuguese superstar's latest strike leaves him only 20 goals shy of an extraordinary 1,000 career goals, as he continues his pursuit of one of football's most remarkable individual accolades.

"Job done," Ronaldo later posted on social media. "On to the next one!"

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had already threatened the visitors' goal in the opening stages, while the home fans made their appreciation for their captain clear with a huge banner unfurled in the eighth minute bearing the message: "Greatness Is Earned. CR7."

Al Nassr then doubled their advantage nine minutes before half-time, when Joao Felix's corner was met by Costa, whose downward header bounced beyond Abdullah.

Felix, the reigning SPL Player of the Season, then had an opportunity to add a third before the break after being played through by Ronaldo but was unable to convert.

However, Al Nassr made sure of the points in the 77th minute, when Sadio Mane released Coman on the counter-attack, the French winger racing clear before slotting into the bottom corner.

The result took Al Nassr into second but level on 19 points with Al Qadsiah, who earlier on Friday triumphed 5-0 at Al Kholood. 

For Postecoglou, it was an encouraging response from his players as they bounded back into domestic action, with the Australian particularly pleased by their overall display.

"I thought it was a good performance," the Al Nassr manager said. "Obviously, it is always good to win and we scored three good goals, kept a clean sheet.

"In general, I thought it was a really good, strong performance and against a difficult opponent, so I'm happy."

For Ronaldo, it represented an evening where he crept ever closer to that 1,000-goal landmark.

More importantly for Al Nassr, it helped ensure their pursuit of back-to-back RSL titles kicked back into gear in winning fashion.