Al Nassr continued their flawless begin to the Saudi Professional League season by racking up a formidable 4-1 win over Al Khaleej on Sunday, a convincing outcome through which Cristiano Ronaldo and several other of the membership’s different marquee signings scored targets.
With João Félix and Sadio Mané already on the rating sheet, Ronaldo capped off the victory within the 96th minute in flamboyant vogue. Defying the years and the creaking joints, the 40-year-old celebrity took to the air and unleashed a implausible overhead kick to flesh out the rout.
Al Khaleej goalkeeper Anthony Moris truly appeared to get two fingers on Ronaldo’s effort, however even that wasn’t sufficient to stop the ball from hitting the again of the web.
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The acrobatic effort, the 954th purpose of Ronaldo’s profession thus far, ensured that Al Nassr have now gained all 9 of their opening league fixtures to go 4 factors clear on the prime of the desk.
It was additionally, by our rely, the fourth spectacular overhead kick within the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s huge again catalogue of targets. This is the way it ranks alongside the opposite entries in his grand pantheon of equally acrobatic strikes.
Honorable point out
One effort which may properly have been prime of the chart, had it not been disallowed, got here for Portugal in a Euro 2008 qualifier in opposition to Azerbaijan on Oct. 7, 2006. Ronaldo flicked the ball over his personal shoulder earlier than rattling a bicycle kick in off the underside of the bar. Nonetheless, as this was within the days earlier than any goal-line know-how was accessible to help, not to mention VAR, the officers by some means did not see the ball had clearly crossed the road. Ronaldo scored two of his facet’s targets within the 3-0 win in Porto, however was denied a memorable hat trick.
4. Portugal vs. Faroe Islands (Aug. 31 2017)
¡Qué golazo de @Crisitano! Un gran tijereta para que #CR7 anote su gol número 12 en las #EuroQualifiers.
@johnlaguna3 @aizquierdo10 pic.twitter.com/b97JnowMMu— FOX Deportes (@FOXDeportes) August 31, 2017
Not technically an “overhead” kick, as a result of diagonal orientation of Ronaldo’s physique as he executes it. However, nonetheless, the Portugal ahead left terra firma to attach with this beautiful scissor kick and open the scoring roughly two minutes right into a 5-1 drubbing of the Faroes in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
3. Portugal vs. Poland (Nov. 15, 2024)
Virtually precisely a yr previous to his heroics within the Saudi league, Ronaldo mustered two targets for his nation in a 5-1 crushing of Poland within the UEFA Nations League group stage — the second of which being this leaping volley that he diverted previous the goalkeeper from shut vary.
2. Al Nassr vs. Al Khaleej (Nov. 23, 2025)
The newest addition to Ronaldo’s overhead assortment, the 40-year-old put the icing on a thumping 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej in becoming fashion with this outrageous, age-defying airborne effort.
1. Actual Madrid vs. Juventus (April 3, 2018)
Doubtless probably the most memorable overhead kick of Ronaldo’s profession got here in the course of the 2017-18 Champions League when Actual Madrid beat Juventus 3-0 within the first leg of their quarterfinal conflict. Ronaldo scored the ultimate purpose of the tie with a really exhilarating overhead kick, scuttling again from a deep place to let fly with a monstrous volley that left Gianluigi Buffon rooted to the spot. Unsurprisingly, the purpose was voted the perfect of the event by UEFA.