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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Saudi club Al Nassr on Friday with a stoppage-time penalty that clinched a tense 2-2 away draw against Al Fateh.
The Portuguese star buried the spot-kick in the 93rd minute for a point that left the Riyadh club joint top of the Saudi Pro League with a game in hand over Al Shabab.
Ronaldo had already scored on Saudi soil during an all-star friendly against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain in Riyadh last month.
He had failed to score in the league win over Ettifaq and in this week’s Super Cup defeat to Al Ittihad.
The 37-year-old Portugal international, a five-times Ballon D’Or winner, converted from the spot three minutes into added time to finally get on the scoresheet.
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“Happy to have scored my first goal in the Saudi league and great effort by whole team to achieve an important draw in a very difficult match!” Ronaldo said on Twitter after the game.
It was a welcome result for Nassr manager Rudi Garcia who was earlier left to rue Ronaldo’s missed chance in his side’s Saudi Super Cup semi-final defeat to Al Ittihad.
After that match, Garcia said: “One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano’s missed opportunity in the first half.”
Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half deal with Al Nassr in December, reported to be worth over $200 million, and was appointed captain shortly after his arrival.
Al Nassr now top the standings after 15 games, level on 34 points with second-placed Al Shabab but with a match in hand. They next travel to Al Wedha on Thursday.
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