Cristiano Ronaldo is losing ground in the Saudi Arabian Golden Boot race. Fully recovered from his right thigh problems suffered on February 28, the Portuguese has seen Quinones and Ivan Toney improve their goalscoring performances in his absence. In his first game after the injury, Cristiano scored twice to show that he is ready to fight for the golden boot and the Saudi title. At the moment, Al Nassr lead the standings, five points ahead of Al Hilal, with May 7 – the day they face each other – marked in red.
Since Cristiano’s injury, Ivan Toney has managed to score three goals in the domestic competition and Quiones four. They have 26 goals each. The two goals scored by the Portuguese against Al Namej served to close the gap and he currently has 23 in the 23 matches he has played. Since his arrival in Saudi Arabia, the Portuguese has won the Saudi Arabian Golden Boot in every season he has played. This season he is two goals short of matching the records that made him top scorer last season.
He has a captain’s mentality
On his return to the field against Al Najma, a viral image was taken of the Portuguese star talking to Jorge Jesus moments before being substituted. This was something that his coach explained later. “Look at Ronaldo’s mentality… He didn’t care about not scoring another goal, not getting a hat-trick, and he looked to protect himself and the team. This is captaincy mentality,” he said when asked about their conversation.
The only season in which he failed to finish as top scorer was in the 2022-23 season, his first stint in Saudi Arabia after signing from Manchester United. In the 16 matches he played, he scored 14 goals, which were not enough to reach the top scorer and since then Cristiano has been the top scorer.
An untimely injury
Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury came at the ‘worst’ possible time. He had just scored five goals in four consecutive matches, his longest scoring streak of the season. During his spell on the sidelines, Quinones and Toney have done their homework against Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ahli and Roger Martinez is three goals away from equalling the Portuguese.
In the AFC Champions League quarter-finals and with seven games to go until the end of the league season, this stage of the season looks set to be a key one for Al Nassr and they will rely on Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals to help them.
