Cristiano Ronaldo 'happy' after scoring first goal for Al Nassr

Portuguese star secures tense draw for Riyadh club against Al Fateh with stoppage-time penalty

Al Nassr's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring a penalty in the Saudi Pro League match against Al Fateh at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Hasa on Friday, February 3, 2023. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo passes in the match between Al Fateh and Al Nassr. AFP

Nassr's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo fights for the ball with past Fateh's Saudi midfielder Mohammed Al Fuhaid. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Al Nassr on Friday. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo clinched a draw for Al Nassr against Al Fateh. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo reacts on Friday. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo looks dejected. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Saudi club Al Nassr on Friday with a stoppage-time penalty that clinched a tense 2-2 away draw against Al Fateh.

The Portuguese star buried the spot-kick in the 93rd minute for a point that left the Riyadh club joint top of the Saudi Pro League with a game in hand over Al Shabab.

Ronaldo had already scored on Saudi soil during an all-star friendly against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain in Riyadh last month.

He had failed to score in the league win over Ettifaq and in this week's Super Cup defeat to Al Ittihad.

The 37-year-old Portugal international, a five-times Ballon D'Or winner, converted from the spot three minutes into added time to finally get on the scoresheet.

"Happy to have scored my first goal in the Saudi league and great effort by whole team to achieve an important draw in a very difficult match!" Ronaldo said on Twitter after the game.

It was a welcome result for Nassr manager Rudi Garcia who was earlier left to rue Ronaldo's missed chance in his side’s Saudi Super Cup semi-final defeat to Al Ittihad.

After that match, Garcia said: "One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano's missed opportunity in the first half.”

Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half deal with Al Nassr in December, reported to be worth over $200 million, and was appointed captain shortly after his arrival.

Al Nassr now top the standings after 15 games, level on 34 points with second-placed Al Shabab but with a match in hand. They next travel to Al Wedha on Thursday.