Cristiano Ronaldo scored a spectacular and amazing free kick to give Al-Nassr a vital 2-1 victory over Abha on Saturday.
Al-Ittihad destroyed Al-Fateh 5-1 earlier on Saturday, and Al-Nassr was trailing 1-0 with 12 minutes left and potentially falling four points behind their rivals.
Ronaldo then stepped up to strike an incredible free kick from 30 yards out to tie the score. With four minutes remaining, Anderson Talisca converted a penalty to complete the comeback.
Ronaldo, who has never been hesitant to take set pieces with his recognizable stance, ended an almost three-year scoring drought from free kicks.
Although having a stellar record earlier in his career— his goal on Saturday was his 56th from a free kick—the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has struggled in recent years.
On July 4, 2020, while playing for Juventus, he scored via a free kick to help the team defeat Torino 4-1.
He would be happy to have scored a free kick against Abha after failing to do so during his second stint with Manchester United.
Ronaldo has now scored nine goals in eight Saudi Pro League games after his eye-watering switch to Rudi Garcia’s team.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (born 5 February 1985) plays as a forward for and captains both the Portugal national team and Saudi Professional League side Al Nassr.
Ronaldo is recognized as one of the best players of all time and has earned the most European player honors with four European Golden Shoes and five Ballon d’Or titles.
In his career, he has won 32 trophies, including the UEFA European Championship, the UEFA Nations League, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and seven league championships.
Ronaldo has the marks for the most Champions League appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42), goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (118), and joint-most international appearances (196).
He is one of the select few athletes with over 1,100 career appearances in the professional sphere and over 800 senior-level goals for club and country.
Active players with most free-kick goals:
Directly scoring after taking a free kick is no easy task. It calls for faultless execution and great technique. One of the most satisfying sights to see on a football field is the ball landing in the goal after a free-kick.
In games where everything is a touch too cagey, set-piece experts may frequently make the difference.
Free kicks are rarely more than a half-chance, which is why professional free kick takers are incredibly popular in the world of football.
Without further ado, let’s look at the five active players who currently have the most goals from free kicks.
- Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain) – 60 free-kick goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Al Nassr) – 59 free-kick goals
- Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey/Inter Milan) – 28 free-kick goals
- Miralem Pjanic (Bosnia & Herzegovina/Sharjah FC) – 26 free-kick goals
- Neymar Jr. (Brazi/Paris Saint-Germain) – 19 free-kick goals
