Al Nassr successfully managed to keep their winning engine running in Saudi Pro League Matchday 5. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. secured an easy 2-0 victory over Al Wehda. However, the aftermath of the clash ignited a bit of fuss as Al Wedha boss Joseph Zinnbauer questioned the referee’s penalty decision.

Allowing Stefano Piolo and Co. to score easily from the spot was just one of the concerns as the visitor’s manager also slammed the official for dismissing Al Wedha midfielder Waleed Bakshween. The criticism was made in the post-match presser. As compiled by @mdrjalnassr on X, Zinnbauer expressed, “The penalty kick is incorrect, and the expulsion of Walid Bakhshwain is also an exaggerated decision.”

Addressing the penalty first, Sultan Al-Ghannam was dribbling just around the corner of the 18-yard box where he nutmegged Al Wehda’s Mohamed Al Makahasi. However, to stop the right-back from making another attacking move, Al Makahasi dragged him to the ground, leaving the official with no choice but to point to the spot.

Meanwhile, concerning the expulsion of Waleed Bakshween, it didn’t affect Al Wehda, considering the dismissal came just around the 88th minute and Al Nassr was already leading by two goals. Yet, the decision didn’t settle in the eyes of Zinnbauer. Notably, Bakshween first got booked during the 23rd-minute mark for a silly challenger.

Sadly, despite having received a major warning, the official decided to show the 34-year-old holding midfielder another yellow, leaving Al Wehda to 10 men. Interestingly, a new arrival this summer, Angelo Gabriel, impressed everyone by opening the account for the Knights of the Najd. The teenage sensation scored a brilliant chip goal just minutes before the end of the first half.

In the latter 45 minutes, Al Nassr was awarded a penalty. As expected, Cristiano Ronaldo took charge and neatly tucked the ball into the back of the net to double the lead. In fact, with this goal, the veteran has managed to break yet another record.

Cristiano Ronaldo hits a new landmark for Al Nassr with his penalty goal

Looks like the record show won’t be stopping for the 39-year-old. By converting his controversial penalty, the Portuguese skipper has now scored his 70th goal for Al Nassr. While this is surely a significant landmark in his Saudi chapter he began just around the beginning of 2023, he is far away from being the club’s top scorer.

Mohammed Al-Sahlawi is the top scorer of Al Nassr with a tally of 121, followed by Abderrazak Hamdallah, who has netted 112. With 70 goals Ronaldo trails behind Anderson Talisca by just a single goal and takes fourth place. Who knows, until the end of the season, we might witness Ronaldo level the record of any top 2 goalscorers in Al Nassr’s history.

Notably, with the win, the Knights of the Najd have moved from fifth to second place in the Saudi Pro League table. They sit comfortably with a total of 11 points, just one point behind leaders Al Hilal. While this is only a temporary standing, given that other teams have yet to play their Matchday 5 matches, these three points are certainly important for Al Nassr.