Ronaldo Scores 15-Minute Hat-Trick, Moves Within 15 Goals Of 1,000

Cristiano Ronaldo moved to within 15 goals of reaching 1,000 career goals after scoring a 15-minute hat-trick to inspire Al Nassr to a 5-3 victory over Al Kholood in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday.

The Portuguese superstar struck in the 66th, 72nd and 81st minutes as Al Nassr claimed all three points in their Week 12 encounter, taking his career tally to 985 goals in official matches.

Al Nassr had to recover from a lively first half that ended 2-2.

Domingues opened the scoring for Al Kholood in the 16th minute before Angelo equalised for the hosts in the 24th. Sadio Mané put Al Nassr ahead in the 38th minute, but Essomba restored parity for the visitors in stoppage time.

Ronaldo then took centre stage after the break, scoring three times in 15 minutes to put Al Nassr firmly in control. Domingues grabbed his second goal of the match for Al Kholood in the 90+4th minute, but it was not enough to prevent defeat.

The victory lifted Al Nassr to 28 points, while Al Kholood remained on 12.