Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals, including two free kicks, helping Al Nassr beat the bottom team Abha 8-0, in round 26 of the Saudi Pro League.

It was the second match in a row that Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, both against teams outside the world’s Top 1,000 according to the Opta strength index. He raised his scoring record to 885 goals in 1,215 matches, including 65 hat-tricks, 59 goals ahead of Lionel Messi. All three goals of the 39-year-old striker on the evening of April 2 were scored from outside the penalty area, right in the first half.

Before this match, the last time he scored a hat-trick twice in a row was nine years ago, when he was at Real Madrid. At that time, he scored five goals against Espanyol in La Liga, then three goals against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League in three days. This time, the Portuguese superstar only needed three days to score two hat-tricks.

Ronaldo scored hat tricks in two consecutive matches

Ronaldo opened the scoring at Abha Stadium in the 11th minute, with a free kick from less than 17 meters from the front corner. He kicked hard and went through the fence, hitting the goalkeeper’s leg and flying into the net. This is the first free kick scored by captain Al Nassr since October 2023, against Damac.

10 minutes later, Ronaldo continued to score a masterpiece free kick, this time at a distance of about 25 meters to the left. He still shot over the fence but high, causing goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu to stand still and watch the ball fly into the net. He danced and twirled in the familiar style across these two tables.

This is the first match Ronaldo scored from two free kicks from the wall, since 2011, also in a Real shirt against Villarreal in La Liga. In his career, there have only been four matches where the 39-year-old superstar has been able to do this, of which the first three matches took place from 2008-2011, his free-kick peak.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the 41st minute, when he received a through ball from midfielder Abdulrahman Ghareeb to face the goalkeeper. The Portuguese captain saw Tatarusanu standing a bit far from the goal, so he decided to hit the ball high from a distance of about 25 meters, beyond the reach of the former AC Milan goalkeeper. This time, Ronaldo still danced to celebrate the table, with a bright smile.

Not only did he score a hat-trick, he also contributed to both of Al Nassr’s remaining goals in the first half. In the 33rd minute, he crossed from the left, forcing the goalkeeper to push the ball out to the right position for Sadio Mane to cushion it into an empty net. At the end of the first half, Ronaldo faced the goalkeeper at close range, but he did not shoot but flicked the ball to Abdulmajeed Al Sulayhim who easily cushioned the ball into an empty net.

With three goals and one assist, Ronaldo received the maximum score of 10 according to Sofascore statistics. The 39-year-old superstar was replaced immediately after the first half, to maintain his strength against Damac three days later.

Abha is ranked 1,176 in the world, according to the Opta index, lower than four Southeast Asian clubs including Johor Darul Tazim, Buriram United, Bangkok United and Port FC.

Despite winning this match, Al Nassr is still 12 points behind top team Al Hilal, with eight rounds left in the tournament. Al Hilal just defeated Al Akhdoud 3-0 to increase the world record to 31 consecutive wins.