Cristiano Ronaldo made amends for a penalty miss by scoring a stunning goal in the second half, while Joao Felix stole the limelight with a sublime hat-trick to help Al-Nassr pick up a thumping 5-1 win over Al Fateh on Saturday in the Saudi Pro League. Jorge Jesus' side maintained their 100 per cent record in the league, as they remained at the top of the table with 15 points from their first five games.
Felix shines with hat-trick and Ronaldo scores a stunner
Al-Nassr went all guns blazing right from the start and kept the Al Fateh backline busy with a barrage of attacks. Ronaldo and Kingsley Coman came close to breaking the deadlock twice each within the first 10 minutes of the match but failed to keep their shots on target. The deadlock, however, was broken in the 13th minute when Sadio Mane found Felix with a square pass on the edge of the box and the former Chelsea and Barcelona star found the back of the net with a screamer of a shot.
A minute later, Felix thought he had scored again when he found the back of the net from a rebound after Ronaldo's shot was blocked by Al Fateh goalkeeper Amin Bukhari, but the linesman raised the offside flag as the Al-Nassr skipper was found in an offside position while receiving the ball.
On the stroke of half-time, Ronaldo did well to glide past two of his markers near the edge of the box before launching a powerful shot which rattled the crossbar and came back. Felix had an opportunity to increase the goals tally but the shot went wide. Al Fateh headed into the break after surviving a series of Al-Nassr attacks as the scoreboard still read 1-0.
The visitors made a shock comeback within the first 10 minutes of the second half as Karl Toko Ekambi made a brilliant run down the middle and received a long ball from the defence. The winger then saw his shot blocked at first but from the rebound, Sofiane Bendebka found the back of the net.
Al-Nassr had an opportunity to restore their lead four minutes after the equaliser as an Al Fateh defender accidentally handled the ball inside the box, while trying to block a cross. After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded, albeit harshly. Ronaldo stepped up and took the spot-kick but Bukhari anticipated the kick perfectly and dove to his left to stop the penalty.
The 40-year-old responded almost immediately and proved why he is an all-time great as he unleashed a pile driver from the edge of the box to outclass Bukhari this time and put his team in front. Ronaldo went overboard with his celebration as he removed his shirt, which led to a yellow card.
In the 68th minute, Felix finally completed his brace as he received a pass from Ronaldo near the box and went inside before dribbling past two Al Fateh defenders and pushed the ball into the net. Minutes later, Kingsley Coman scored a fourth goal for the Saudi giants as he hit the net after receiving a pass from Angelo Gabriel.
Felix soon completed his second hat-trick of the 2025-26 campaign as he tapped in a rebound ball after Sadio Mane's solo effort from inside the box was cleared from the goal line.
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Felix was clinical with his finishing on the night as he completed his second hat-trick since scoring his maiden one on his Saudi Pro League debut in August against Al-Taawoun. The Portuguese striker has experienced a dream turnaround in his career since moving to Saudi Arabia, as he now has 11 goals in 10 matches across all competitions.
The big loser
Al Fateh defenders had a nightmare outing as they looked clueless in front of a fierce Al-Nassr attack right from the start. The margin could have been higher had the likes of Ronaldo, Felix or Coman not squandered easy chances in the first half. Bukhari had an impressive outing between the sticks and had even pulled out a stunning penalty save of Ronaldo, but the goalkeeper was let down by his backline.
Getty Images SportMatch rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
