Cristiano Ronaldo proved pivotal yet again with a late equaliser to salvage a draw for Al Nassr against on Thursday.
With Al Nassr trailing in the Arab Club Champions Cup clash, Ronaldo rose highest to score in the 87th minute to gain them a draw in the Group C fixture against Zamalek.
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Sadio Mane had come on in the second-half to make his debut since his Saudi Arabia switch from Bayern Munich.
But the Senegal international could not affect the match like his illustrious new teammate Ronaldo could.
And it proved crucial as a loss to Egyptian side Zamalek would have seen Al Nassr knocked out of the competition.
Ahmed Sayed had put Zamalek a goal up from the penalty spot minutes into the second half.
But with time running out, a fine cross found Ghislan Konan found the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who made no mistake to score his 840th career goal.
Without celebrating, the 37-year-old quickly got the ball to try and find the winner.
However, a draw was all that was needed to secure passage to the knockout stage of the competition.
It saw Al Nassr finish second in Group C with five points, a point ahead of Zamalek, as Ronaldo’s goal sent them home.
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The Portugal international has started this season in quick fashion with two goals in three appearances already while the Saudi campaign has started earlier than its European counterparts.
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr last season after his contract at Manchester United was scrapped.
And he has made an immediate impact while he has 16 goals in 22 games in total since making the move. The 38-year-old has 21 goals in 26 matches in all competitions in 2023.
But some might say that the global superstar has helped pave the way for many other big-name players to swap life in Europe for the Saudi Pro League.
Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are just a handful of high-profile stars to make the switch.
Even at Al Nassr, Ronaldo will be partnering Mane up front very soon when the ex-Liverpool star is up to fitness.
The Riyadh-based club have also signed Alex Telles from United, as well as Seko Fofana and Marcelo Brozovic.
