Ronaldo’s brace earn Al-Nassr a comeback win over Al-Riyadh

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the second half to secure Al-Nassr a 2-1 comeback win over Al-Riyadh.

The win ensured Al-Nassr kept the pressure on second-placed Al-Hilal, as Stephen Pioli’s side trail only by one point.

The hosts came the closest to an early opener, as Jhon Duran could only strike the side net from Ronaldo’s clever flick.

Al-Nassr continued to dominate the game but could not break the visitors’ backline, only to fall on the stroke of halftime.

Al-Riyadh found the breakthrough when Faiz Selemani pounced on the rebound of Abdulelah Al Khaibari’s saved shot to poke in from close range.

However, Al-Nassr got back into the game, 11 minutes into the second half. Sadio Mane squared an effort across the face of goal, and Ronaldo positioned well to tap it into an empty net.

The Portuguese then gave the hosts the lead as he got his second in the 64th minute. The 40-year-old smashed a volley into the net off the underside of the bar, after a cleared cutback.

The visitors were then reduced to 10 men in the 94th minute when Ahmad Asiri caught Duran with a late tackle. The Al-Riyadh man was given a straight red for the tackle, although it had little or no effect on the game.

Meanwhile, Al-Nassr moved to within one point of Al-Hilal, eight behind league toppers, Al-Ittihad.