DAMMAM — Al Nassr returned to winning ways with a challenging 3-1 victory over Al Khaleej in Matchweek 16 of the Saudi Pro League. Despite Al Khaleej being reduced to 10 players following the 33rd-minute red card for defender Saeed Al-Hamsal, the hosts put up a valiant fight before Al Nassr eventually secured the win. Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo led the charge for Al Nassr, scoring twice, first in the 65th minute and again deep into stoppage time. Sultan Al-Ghannam added the third goal in the 82nd minute. Al Khaleej's lone goal came from Fortounis, who converted a penalty in the 80th minute. With his two goals, Ronaldo climbed to the top of the league's scoring chart, taking his tally to 13 goals. He surpassed Al Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrović, who has 12 goals but remains sidelined due to injury. The victory temporarily moves Al Nassr to third place in the league standings with 32 points, just one point behind Al Qadsiah, who have a game in hand against Al Orouba. Meanwhile, Al Khaleej's points tally remains at 23, leaving them further adrift in the mid-table race. Despite the early numerical advantage, Al Nassr struggled to break down Al Khaleej, who held firm defensively and even managed to equalize before Ronaldo and Al-Ghannam sealed the win.
