The goal: a parried shot, a VAR check and number 980

It was not one of his spectacular finishes. Coman ran at the Diriyah defence, cut in and shot; goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah could only parry it, and Ronaldo was the first man there to knock the rebound in from close range. The Associated Press and Arab News both describe it that way. According to 101 Great Goals, the goal stood only after a VAR review for a possible offside against Mané.

The number matters more than the finish. BBC Sport counts it as his 980th goal for Portugal, Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr, and notes he is aiming to become the first player to reach 1,000 goals in official matches. Of the 980, 146 came in 234 appearances for Portugal, which BBC Sport lists as world records for men’s international football.

Al Nassr’s official English-language account posted the goal.

⚽️ || GOOOOOAAAAL! 🤩🐐
Cristiano Ronaldo scores the first goal 23’ for @AlNassrFC #Nassr 1:0 #AlDiriyah pic.twitter.com/inR8xEz10X

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) October 9, 2026

Image/video: AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) on X

A banner before kick-off and a chant in the seventh minute

Before the game, home fans unfurled a large banner. BBC Sport reports that it read “greatness is earned, CR7, all-time top scorer in football history”. ESPN adds that the supporters chanted his name in the seventh minute.

After the final whistle Ronaldo kept it short. He posted “Job done. On to the next one!” accompanied by a photo of his celebration, as ESPN reported.

Job done. On to the next one! 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/lwKjjmcOBG

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 9, 2026

Image/video: Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) on X

How the rest of the night went

Al Nassr led 2-0 at the break. Samú Costa headed in João Félix’s corner in the 35th minute, a time given by BBC Sport, ESPN and AFP. Félix then had a chance of his own when a Ronaldo through ball sent him clear, and Arab News says he missed it. Coman wrapped things up in the 77th minute, released by Mané’s through ball, and slotted into the bottom corner.

Diriyah, in their first season in the top flight and coached by Bruno Lage, had one shot on target all night, according to the BBC’s match stats. Arab News noted that they matched Al Nassr for trips into the final third, and that Ange Postecoglou’s side dropped into a 4-5-1 once they were two goals clear. The win followed a poor spell. 101 Great Goals counts one win in four matches in all competitions before the international break, and Al Nassr’s last Champions League game was a 4-0 defeat at Al-Ain on September 15.

What Postecoglou said before the game

The Al Nassr coach would not be drawn on Portugal. In comments carried by the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiah and translated by Goal, Postecoglou said: “Ronaldo has come back in good shape, and he is ready mentally and physically, and that is the most important thing.” He added that he had coached national teams himself and “used to hate it when club coaches commented on national team events.”

There is a twist in the background. Jorge Jesus, the Portugal coach Ronaldo fell out with, was Ronaldo’s coach at Al Nassr last season. AP notes that Ronaldo won the Saudi title in May with Jesus in charge.

Where the Portugal case stands

Ronaldo left Portugal’s camp in Copenhagen before the Nations League game against Denmark, after being an unused substitute in the win at Norway, according to ESPN and O Jogo. In a long statement he accused Jesus of breaking his word. BBC Sport quotes him calling it an “absolute breach of trust”. He also apologised, and said he is not retiring from international football. Portugal won in Copenhagen without him, 4-2, O Jogo reports.

The Portuguese federation’s rules treat leaving camp as grounds for an automatic provisional suspension. Under article 160 of its disciplinary regulations, O Jogo reports, the penalty is one to six months plus a fine of €510 to €1,020. In the statement, as O Jogo quotes it, Ronaldo said the punishment should carry no mitigating circumstances and that being captain is an aggravating factor. The translation from the Portuguese is ours.

A lawyer cited by Hindustan Times says a full admission can halve the range, which would mean a minimum of 15 days and €255. We covered that angle in our earlier report on the possible 15-day ban. No ruling has come yet. The non-professional division of the federation’s disciplinary committee issued a statement on Friday covering other sanctions without mentioning Ronaldo, AllFootball reports.

The Ricardo Carvalho precedent

O Jogo points to the closest case on file. Defender Ricardo Carvalho left the national team’s camp in Óbidos in 2011 and was punished by the federation on September 13 of that year, about two weeks later. The rules then allowed a suspension of up to 24 months. The federation cut it to 12, citing his record, and Carvalho returned in October 2014 under Fernando Santos.

The current range is far shorter. O Jogo spells out what it means for the calendar: a one-month ban would still leave Ronaldo available for Portugal’s two remaining Nations League group games, Denmark at home on November 14 and Wales in Cardiff three days later. A six-month ban would also rule him out of the quarter-finals in March 2027. Portugal have already qualified for those. Jesus has said little. O Jogo has him saying he read the statement and has “nothing more to say” (translation ours). Goal adds that Portuguese media report Jesus himself could face a disciplinary review, but only if someone files a formal complaint.

The table and the road to 1,000

Al Nassr finished the night on 19 points from eight games, level with Al-Qadsiah, who beat Al-Kholood 5-0 and lead on goal difference (+13 to +12 in the BBC table). Al-Hilal, on 18 points from seven games, host Al-Ittihad on Saturday in the Riyadh clasico, and either side can pass both of them with a win, Arab News says.

For Ronaldo, the career total is the story. Fox Sports logged goal 977 on August 21, his first of the league season. Friday’s was his fourth league goal of the campaign, Mint notes, so three more have come in the seven weeks since. Fox also reported that his Al Nassr contract runs to June 2027 and that he had said this was “probably my last year of football”. Twenty goals are left to find before then.

The next chance comes on Monday, October 12, when Al Nassr host Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana in the AFC Champions League Elite. Kick-off is 7.15 pm BST, which is 11.45 pm IST, per 101 Great Goals. For more of our coverage, see the football section and our report on Lionel Messi’s farewell for Argentina.

Sources: BBC Sport, ESPN, AP, Arab News, Goal, 101 Great Goals, O Jogo, Hindustan Times, Mint, Fox Sports and AllFootball, plus posts on X from Al Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Photo: Mohammadreza Abbasi, Mehr News Agency / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cristiano Ronaldo in Al Nassr’s kit in Tehran, September 2023.