Ronaldo, Coman combo catapults Al Nassr towards RSL title
Who else, right?
Who else when Al Nassr craved a goal to take them to within touching distance of a first Roshn Saudi League crown in what, for the club and everyone connected at least, must feel an eternity.
Of course it had to be him. Fourteen minutes from time at a throbbing Al Awwal Park on Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo rose to the challenge - literally - Al Nassr’s captain netting the most crucial of his 99 RSL goals until now.
The Portugal superstar, chasing a third successive golden boot too, displayed all his almost unparalleled predatory instinct, leaping highest from compatriot Joao Felix’s 76th-minute corner to head emphatically into the net.
It also set the scene for Kingsley Coman to crash home a second on 90 minutes, the summer signing from Bayern Munich sending a thunderous volley past Edouard Mendy to maintain his own end-of-season momentum.
Al Nassr, who came into the Matchweek 30 clash at home to Al Ahli top by five points with five matches remaining, were 2-0 winners against the recently anointed Asian champions on a rocking Riyadh night.
In doing so, they strengthened their bid for a first top-flight title in seven years and, at the same time, all-but extinguished Al Ahli's own quest for the trophy. The back-to-back AFC Champions League Elite victors stay third, but now trail Al Nassr by 13.
The sense all around the 26,000 plus at a jubilant Al Awwal Park was that it’s Al Nassr’s to lose. With four fixtures remaining - second-placed Al Hilal do have a game in hand - Al Nassr are once again eight points clear.
It was the Ronaldo-Coman combo that did it. To their immense credit, two of the capital club’s biggest stars stood up when it mattered most.