Cristiano Ronaldo finally made his Saudi Pro League debut for Al Nassr as his side beat Al Ettifaq at Mrsool Park.
The Portuguese, however, was upstaged by Anderson Talisca who scored the only goal of the game in the 31st minute during his side’s 1-0 win.
Appearing in his first game since making a move to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo was handed the captain’s armband for his first outing with the team which was delayed as he served a two-match suspension handed down by the English FA for an incident during his spell at Manchester United.
Despite scoring twice against PSG in a friendly just days ago, the 37-year-old looked a little disjointed from his team, failing to land a single shot on target during the 90 minutes. His best chance came in the first half when his well-taken freekick narrowly went over the crossbar.
In his stead, it was the Brazilan who put Al Nassr ahead when he powered a header past Paulo Victor as Al Ettifaq failed to find an equaliser for the remainder of the game.
The win takes Al Nassr top of the Saudi Pro League table with 33 points from 14 games, one ahead of their nearest rivals Al-Hilal who have played one more match as well.
Ronaldo will next have an opportunity to break his duck when Al Nassr takes on Al Ittihad on Thursday in the Saudi Super Cup semifinal.
