Lame duck Southgate's inevitable exit is undermining England

Farewell, Toni Kroos: The Roger Federer of football

Ronaldo's rotten Euros are over as Felix fluffs crucial penalty

Unleash Palmer & Kane together to shoot down Switzerland

France march on but Mbappe & Griezmann flop again

Dibu does it again! Martinez bails out Messi in Copa shootout

Kroos left chasing shadows as Germany suffer Euros heartbreak

Ballon d'Or Rankings: Rodri rises as Vini & Jude trade blows

Projecting USMNT's World Cup XI in wake of Copa collapse

Why Romania's Hagi had to wear a hair net at Euro 2024

Canada's Copa America 2024 squad: Who's in and who's out?  

Revealed: Why Musiala ditched England dream to play for Germany

Merino at the death! Spain sneak into semis as Olmo stars

Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Al-Nassr beat Al-Ahli 1-0</li><li>Ronaldo converted after being denied by VAR</li><li>Kept title hopes alive with the winner</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Cristiano Ronaldo has the magic touch! Portugal icon ends Al-Nassr's miserable winless run as they scrape past Roberto Firmino's Al-Ahli in Saudi Pro League clash

There was no shortage of star power as several familiar names in Europe were battling for the three points on either side including former Liverpool star Firmino, Frank Kessie, and Riyadh Mahrez for Al-Ahli to match up with a star-studded Al-Nassr side led by their Portuguese talisman. However, the big names kept holding their fire as both teams adopted a caution-first approach in the first half. It was almost a snoozefest until the final 10 minutes and Ronaldo had little to do in front of goal after being starved of service by a gritty Al-Ahli defence. The first gilt-edged chance fell for the hosts but the crossbar denied Merih Demiral after he jumped the highest to get his head to a corner floated in by Mahrez. A few minutes later, Ronaldo jumped for joy after he scored from an acute angle but VAR intervened and deemed him to be offside by a whisker during the build-up.The second half was much livelier after the half-time team talks with their respective managers. More spaces started opening up in midfield and Firmino scored for his team after Allan Saint-Maximin set him up. However, VAR struck down the goal to keep the scoreline unchanged. Both teams further upped the ante in the final 30 minutes but a reckless challnege from Roger Ibanez inside the box on Sami Al-Najei proved fatal. Ronaldo stepped up from the spot, sent Edouard Mendy the wrong way with a stuttered run-up and placed his effort at the corner to finally break the deadlock. Firmino &amp; Co gave their all in the final quarter to salvage at least a point from the match but could not find a way through Al-Nassr's stubborn defence as the Knights of Najd ended their four-match winless run.

TELL ME MORE

Ronaldo was once again the difference-maker! He was brilliant in patches and that proved to be enough to seal the three points. To be fair, he would have been on the scoresheet much earlier but for VAR. Nonetheless, he was clinical from the spot and that magic touch helped his team to reduce the deficit to nine points with leaders Al-Hilal on top - who have a match in hand.

THE MVP

Ibanez must face the brunt for that brain fade moment that cost his side the three points. He had no intention of playing the ball and dangled his trailing feet out to catch Al-Najei, who made the most of the contact. He was already on a yellow and was lucky to not get the marching orders as it would have spelt further trouble for the Royals.

THE BIG LOSER

Ronaldo will now head back to Lisbon to join his Portugal team-mates ahead of the international fixtures. Portugal will play friendlies against Sweden and Slovenia on March 21 and 26 respectively where the 39-year-old will look to add to his record international goal tally. After fulfilling his national team commitments, he will return to Riyadh to take on Al-Tai on March 30.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐

Cristiano Ronaldo has the magic touch! Portugal icon ends Al-Nassr's miserable winless run as they scrape past Roberto Firmino's Al-Ahli in Saudi Pro League clash | Goal.com Cameroon

Cristiano Ronaldo struck from the spot to end Al-Nassr&apos;s miserable winless run as they scraped past Roberto Firmino&apos;s Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo has the magic touch! Portugal icon ends Al-Nassr&apos;s miserable winless run as they scrape past Roberto Firmino&apos;s Al-Ahli in Saudi Pro League clash