Al-Nassr 2-0 Damac: Ronaldo scores twice as Pioli's side bounce back

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a double as Al-Nassr defeated 10-man Damac 2-0 to stay five points behind Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad. 

Stefano Pioli's side had suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Al-Qadsiah last week, but bounced back with a commanding win against Damac, who were unbeaten in three league matches. 

Ronaldo netted his first goal from the penalty spot in the 17th minute after Otavio's header hit the arms of Damac centre-back Abdelkader Bedrane.

The away side's hopes of a comeback were then dashed when Bedrane stomped on Mohamed Simakan and the referee brought out the red card following a VAR check just 11 minutes into the second half.

The 39-year-old sealed the win in the 79th minute, slotting home a cut-back from left-back Nawaf Boushal for his ninth league goal of the season. 

Al-Nassr are third in the table, level on 25 points with Al-Qadsiah behind them, while Damac are 11th with 14 points from 12 matches.

Leaders Al-Ittihad will be in action against Al-Ettifaq on Saturday, hoping to pull further ahead at the top. 

Data Debrief: 915 goals and counting

Ronaldo's latest brace takes him to 915 career goals, of which 452 have come since he turned 30. It was also the first time he has scored more than once in the league this campaign. 

The Portugal international scored 35 goals in 31 appearances for Al-Nassr in last season's SPL, and only Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic (12 goals) has scored more than his nine this season. 

Ronaldo has also now scored six goals from four matches against Damac in the Saudi top-flight.