Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start when Al Nasr hosts Damak FC in the Saudi Professional League on Saturday (October 21). Najd Knights will be looking to get back to winning ways after drawing 2-2 with Abha ahead of the international break.
Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Saudi Arabia after a productive international break in which he guided Portugal to qualifying for Euro 2024. He scored twice against Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to help Roberto Martinez’s side maintain a 100% record.
Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the club and should start against Al Nasr against Damak. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner can partner Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca up front in a three-man attack.
Ronaldo will hope to continue his international form against Damac. The former Manchester United superstar failed to score for the first time since week three, when Al Nasr drew 2-2 with Abha.
The Portuguese superstar has made 11 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 11 goals and providing 6 assists. Ten of those goals were scored in the Saudi Professional League.
Despite the draw, Luis Castro’s side sit third in the Saudi Professional League standings with 19 points from nine games. They are currently four points behind league leaders Al Hilal.
Damac, on the other hand, are tenth in the standings with 10 points from nine games. They went on a seven-game winless run in the league before back-to-back wins over Al-Khaleej and Al-Hazem salvaged the 2023-24 season.
How did Cristiano Ronaldo perform at Alnas against Damac FC last season?
Cristiano Ronaldo joins Al-Nassr on a free transfer for the second half of the 2022-23 season. This means the Portugal captain can only play against a Damac XI.
However, Ronaldo only needed one game to prove his authority over Damac. The former Real Madrid star scored a first-half hat-trick in that game as his new team secured a routine 3-0 victory.
Ronaldo was completely dominant in the last game. He took six shots in total and hit the target with all three shots. Ronaldo’s passing success rate was only 92%, and he even created two excellent opportunities for his teammates.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo did lose possession seven times and was flagged for offside twice in that game.