Ronaldo Sets Saudi Pro League Season Scoring Record While Al-Hilal Finishes Unbeaten 

Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad - Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 27, 2024 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad - Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 27, 2024 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
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Ronaldo Sets Saudi Pro League Season Scoring Record While Al-Hilal Finishes Unbeaten 

Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad - Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 27, 2024 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Ittihad - Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 27, 2024 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo finished the Saudi Pro League by setting the season goal-scoring record on Monday.

Ronaldo scored twice in Riyadh as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Ittihad 4-2 and lifted his league tally to 35, one more than the record in 2019 by Abderrazak Hamdallah.

In the final seconds of the first half, Ronaldo, who had already had two goals ruled out for offside, chested down a long pass from Mohammed Al-Fatil and opened the scoring with a low shot from the left side of the area.

With 21 minutes remaining, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner celebrated wildly after heading home a corner from Marcelo Brozovic. He was substituted off the field five minutes later to a standing ovation from the home fans.

It ended an action-packed season for Ronaldo, who scored four hat tricks and collected one red card.

Al-Nassr finished second in the league, 14 points behind local rival Al-Hilal, which won the championship more than two weeks ago and completed the 34-round league unbeaten on Monday.

Al-Hilal was too strong even without Neymar, who joined the club in August from Paris Saint-Germain but suffered a season-ending ACL injury in October.

Aleksandar Mitrovic stepped in and ended the season with a goal in the final seconds to clinch a 2-1 win over Al-Wehda. The Serbian striker, signed from London club Fulham last summer, reached 27 league goals, second only to Ronaldo.

On its way to the title, Al-Hilal went on a 34-game winning streak in all competitions, a new world record for a top tier team.

“This season has been truly exceptional for the team, arguably our best ever,” coach Jorge Jesus said. “The credit goes to the immense talent within the squad and the incredible sense of unity that transcends both on and off-field interactions.”

Al-Ittihad’s defeat at Al-Nassr ended a disappointing season for the defending champion. Karim Benzema, signed from Real Madrid, struggled with injuries and even with N’Golo Kante and Fabinho in midfield, signed from Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, the team from Jeddah could manage only fifth place.

Poor results cost Nuno Santo his job as coach in November, and the Portuguese tactician returned to the English Premier League a month later to take over Nottingham Forest.

Ronaldo still has one more chance to end the season with a trophy when Al-Nassr meets Al-Hilal in the King’s Cup final on Friday.



Juventus Beat Verona 2-0 with Late Thuram, Koopmeiners Goals

Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Hellas Verona - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - March 3, 2025 Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners scores their second goal past Hellas Verona's Lorenzo Montipo REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Hellas Verona - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - March 3, 2025 Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners scores their second goal past Hellas Verona's Lorenzo Montipo REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
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Juventus Beat Verona 2-0 with Late Thuram, Koopmeiners Goals

Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Hellas Verona - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - March 3, 2025 Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners scores their second goal past Hellas Verona's Lorenzo Montipo REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Hellas Verona - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - March 3, 2025 Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners scores their second goal past Hellas Verona's Lorenzo Montipo REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

Late goals from Khephren Thuram and Teun Koopmeiners earned misfiring Juventus a 2-0 home win against Hellas Verona in Serie A on Monday as Thiago Motta's side extended their winning run to five games.

Juventus held a lion's share of possession and created nearly 30 chances but struggled to break the deadlock with most of them missing the target, while visiting goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo produced a string of saves to deny the rest.

But Thuram found a way past the heroic Verona keeper in the 72nd minute, scoring with first touch from around the penalty spot, and Koopmeiners doubled the lead with a low shot from a tight angle in the 90th.

Juve, who last week were eliminated in Coppa Italia quarter-finals by relegation-threatened Empoli, are fourth in the standings on 52 points, six off leaders Inter Milan and two above Lazio in fifth.

The hosts, who were the only Italian side to win all of their league games in February, cut distance to the top after Inter drew at second-placed Napoli last weekend and Atalanta, in third, were held goalless at home by lowly Venezia, Reuters reported.

Verona are 14th, four points above the relegation zone.

The visitors had the first attempts on target through Tomas Suslov and Amin Sarr, who both struck from outside the box inside seven minutes, but Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio saved their shots.

Verona barely abandoned their own half ever since as they were under constant fire from Juventus.

Thuram should have put the home side in front early on when he was served a precise pass inside the area but his attempt from the penalty spot lacked strength and Montipo had no problem denying him.

Weston McKennie thought he made it 1-0 before the break with a close-range header following a free kick but his goal was ruled out for a foul on the Verona keeper.

Montipo continued to deliver and Manuel Locatelli saw his two brilliant chances thwarted minutes later as frustration grew among the local fans.

However, things could have been worse for Juve as Verona appeared to have taken a shock lead in first-half stoppage time through Suslov, who fired from a distance, but his stunning goal was disallowed for offside.

Kenan Yildiz hit the side netting for the hosts after the restart as more chances missed Verona's goal until Thuram sent the ball inside the right side of the net to finally give them the lead.

Koopmeiners doubled the advantage when he was teed up on the edge of the area and outfoxed Verona's defence to strike past Montipo inside the near post.

Juventus won each of their first four home league games in a single calendar year for the first time since 2021.