Just when it looked like a night to forget, Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved inevitable

Even though his critics focus on the fact that his powers appear to be waning – which wouldn’t be particularly surprising considering he’s about to turn 40 – Cristiano Ronaldo continues to score for fun.

Last season he broke the Saudi Pro League single-season goalscoring record with an incredible 35 goals in just 31 appearances.

His biggest challenger? Aleksandar Mitrovic with 28.

And lest the skeptics raise their eyebrows at the SPL’s perceived quality: it hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for other greats like Karim Benzema (nine goals from 21 appearances) and Roberto Firmino (nine from 32).

He recently became the first male soccer player to score 900 goals in official games and began 2024-25 in his typical goalscoring form.

But when he made his AFC Champions League Elite opener against Al Rayyan on Monday – after missing Al Nassr’s season opener two weeks ago through illness – it initially looked like it was going to be one of those unusual evenings at the office.

He missed a few good opportunities in the first 45 minutes, including a powerful free header at the back post, which he usually shot into the net with his eyes closed.

When he finally fired the ball past Al Rayyan goalkeeper Paulo Victor two minutes into the second half, the goal was disallowed for a minor but correct offside position after he made an over-the-shoulder run that got behind the opposition’s defensive line was the last defender he had executed perfectly countless times in the past.

At this point, Al Nassr were already in the lead thanks to Sadio Mané, who found space in the six-yard box just before half-time to head Sultan Al-Ghannam’s excellent shot into the box.

Still, a one-goal lead was never going to offer Al Nassr much security, especially against an Al Rayyan team that had enough quality to pose a threat. There was still the possibility that Ronaldo’s previous misses would come back to haunt them.

But while he may not act as clinically as he once did – and it must be acknowledged that his ultimate level of lethality in front of goal was unmatched – he remains unavoidable.

That would prove true again with 14 minutes to go.

Great credit goes to substitute Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who with his dancing feet did an excellent job of overcoming a few challenges on the edge of the penalty area and – just when it looked like he had waited too long to release the ball – managed to poke the ball out properly, as a covering defender approached.

Just as he had done hundreds of times before, the Portuguese icon – without making first contact – attempted a first attempt with his left foot, past Victor’s desperate dive and into the far corner.

And it would prove crucial as Róger Guedes equalized for Al Rayyan three minutes from time, although Al Nassr were able to record a 2-1 win and their first three points in the ACL Elite after an opening draw against Al Shorta .

For the seventh time in the eight games so far this season, Ronaldo was on the scoresheet and made the difference – as is so often the case.

Even on an evening that initially seemed like it would be forgotten.