Cristiano Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory against Al-Shabab to help Al-Nassr maintain its chances of winning the Saudi Arabian championship.
With two games left in the season, leader Al-Ittihad, who earlier defeated Al-Batin 1-0, would have won the title if second-place Al-Nassr had lost the Riyadh derby.
Before Brazilian Anderson Talisca brought a goal back for Al-Nassr shortly before halftime, Cristian Guanca scored twice for Al-Shabab.
The nine-time winners were tied six minutes after the break when Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored a close-range goal to make it 2-2.
Ronaldo gave Al-Nassr the lead just before the hour mark after running past two players and curling a shot from the outside of the box into the top corner. The goal became the Portugal star's 14th since joining the team after the World Cup.
“To be 2-0 down is very difficult, but we believed until the very end and scored three goals, so congratulations to the team and the supporters who were amazing today,” the former Real Madrid player added.
At the top of the rankings, Al-Ittihad leads by three points.
“Step-by-step, I think this league will be in the top five leagues in the world,” stated Ronaldo. “But they need time, they need players, they need infrastructure.”
