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Ronaldo, 39, explodes for hat trick for second straight game
Nearing 40 years old, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr) showed off his fitness with a hat-trick for the second consecutive game.
Al-Nasr thrashed Abha 8-0 away at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City in Abha, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday (Feb. 2) in the 26th round of the 2023-2024 Saudi Professional Football League.
Three of the goals were scored by the 39-year-old Ronaldo, who was born in 1985.
Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a low, low free kick and rattled the net 10 minutes later with another unstoppable free kick.
In the 42nd minute, he completed his hat trick with a sensational chip from a counterattack.
Two minutes later, on the counterattack, Ronaldo opted to pass rather than shoot from the edge of the box, setting up Abdulmajid Alsulaihim's goal.
Ronaldo's three-goal outburst against Altai in Round 25 was his second consecutive hat-trick to extend his lead in the league's scoring charts.
With 29 goals in 24 appearances, Ronaldo has extended his lead over second-place Aleksandr Mitrovic (22) to seven goals.
If Ronaldo finishes the season on this pace, he will have the distinction of being the top scorer in four different leagues.
Ronaldo was the top scorer in the English Premier League in 2007-2008, the Spanish Primera Liga in 2010-2011-2013-2014-2014-2015, and the Italian Serie A in 2020-2021.
Alnasr's big win, led by Ronaldo's performance, puts them in second place in the league (64 points) with 20 wins, two draws, and four losses. The gap between them and leaders Alhilal is huge. With 24 wins and two draws, the undefeated Alhilal have 74 points.