FanNation Futbol

Cristiano Ronaldo "Own Goal" Helps Al-Raed Beat Al Nassr

Al Nassr lost 3-1 to Al-Raed in the Saudi Pro League. Al-Raed's 3rd goal deflected in off Cristiano Ronaldo. Fans called it a "Ronaldo own goal" but it was not.

Robert Summerscales

Cristiano Ronaldo "Own Goal" Helps Al-Raed Beat Al Nassr
Cristiano Ronaldo "Own Goal" Helps Al-Raed Beat Al Nassr /

Cristiano Ronaldo's dream of winning the Saudi Pro League looks highly unlikely to come true this season after his Al Nassr side lost 3-1 at home to Al-Raed on Thursday.

The result was Al Nassr's fourth SPL loss of the season and it left Ronaldo and Co nine points behind unbeaten leaders Al-Hilal, who have a game in hand.

Al Nassr dominated Thursday's contest in terms of possession, with 72%, and also chances, registering 16 shots to Al-Raed's seven.

But the away side were more clinical, hitting the net with strikes from Karim El Berkaoui, Mohammed Fouzair and Amir Sayoud.

Ronaldo "own goal"

Sayoud's 87th-minute goal found the net via a slight deflection off Ronaldo.

Several rival fans quickly took to social media to mischievously spread news of a "Ronaldo own goal" but this was not officially true.

It was not recorded as an own goal because Sayoud's shot had been on target before the ball flicked off Ronaldo's right leg.

However, Ronaldo's touch did appear to make it harder for Al Nassr keeper David Ospina to make the save.

Ronaldo has only scored one genuine own goal during his career. It came in 2013 when his Real Madrid side lost 1-0 at Granada.

Ronaldo twice hit the crossbar during Thursday's game - first with a spectacular volley in the 24th minute and then again from a free-kick in second-half added time.

Teammate Aiman Yahya scored from the rebound directly after Ronaldo's first run-in with the woodwork.

But there was no such luck after Ronaldo's late free-kick clipped the bar on its way over.

Ronaldo looked sad and almost on the verge of tears as he reacted to his near-miss in added time.

Moments earlier, a video taken by Saudi sports journalist Khalid Alolayan had captured Ronaldo's reaction to Al-Raed going 3-1 ahead.

Ronaldo was visibly exasperated as he waited for Al-Raed's players to finish their celebrations.

After placing the ball on the center spot, Ronaldo was seen waving his arms around before helplessly looking up to the sky.

Ronaldo vented his frustration at referee Abdullah Khalid Al-Khurbush multiple times during Thursday's game.

The 39-year-old was seemingly angry with what he perceived to be time-wasting by the Al-Raed players.

At the end of the game, Ronaldo angrily threw a bottle of water at the ground while walking off the pitch.

Ronaldo had missed Al Nassr's previous league game - a 4-4 draw with Al-Hazm - as he was serving a one-match ban for making obscene gestures towards Al-Shabab fans in February.

Cristiano Ronaldo pictured looking sad during Al Nassr's 3-1 home defeat by Al-Raed in March 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo pictured during Al Nassr's 3-1 home defeat by Al-Raed on Thursday / Saudi Sports Company
Published
Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.