Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his first appearance since leaving Portugals Nations League camp as Al-Nassr won for the first time in three matches in all competitions by beating Al-Diriyah to move second in the Saudi Pro League at Al-Awwal Park. Five-time Ballon dOr winner Ronaldo, who started his countrys home win over Wales but went home after being left on the bench for their victory in Norway, slotted in from close range after goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah spilled Kingsley Comans shot, with the goal allowed following a Video Assistant Referee review for a potential offside against Sadio Mane.Al-Nassr doubled their lead before the break when new signing Samu Costa headed in Joao Felixs corner and could have been 3-0 ahead at half-time but for Qasem Lajami clearing the former Chelsea forwards shot off the line.Coman surged clear courtesy of Manes through ball, entered the box and struck a late third before Berat Djimsiti headed narrowly wide for Al-Diriyah.The result moved Al-Nassr level on points with leaders Al-Qadsiah and will have provided some relief for new head coach Ange Postecoglou following the title holders run of one win in four matchesin all competitions immediately before the international break.How Cristiano Ronaldo returned with Al NassrRonaldo released a lengthy statement following the saga of his first training camp with new Portugal manager Jorge Jesus, who was his boss at Al-Nassr last season.Fans held up a banner honouring the 41-year-old as Ronaldo returned to domestic action, celebrating in trademark fashion after scoring and exchanging a jovial exchange with opposition forward Darwin Nunez at one point.Newly led by Portuguese coach Bruno Lage formerly of Benfica and Wolves Al-Diriyah are ninth after a promising start to their first-ever season in the division and went closest shortly after half-time when Enzo Millots curling attempt from distance was tipped around a post by Bento, although the effort may have been going wide.Joao Felix had a second-half shot from insidet the box turned behind by AbdullahAl-Diriyah had taken 11 points from their first seven league games but missed out on the point they needed to rise to seventh.Whats next? Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr fixturesAl-Nassr are next in action at home to Uzbekistan Super League team Neftchi Fergana in their second Champions League match of the season, five days before Al-Diriyah play in the league again.DateMatchBST start timeETPTMon, Oct 12Al-Nassr vs Neftchi Fergana19:1514:1511:15Sat, Oct 15Al-Diriyah vs Al-Taawoun19:0014:0011:00Al Nassr team vs Al DiriyahAl-Nassr made three changes from their 4-0 defeat at Al-Ain in the Champions League on September 15, bringing in Bento, defender Awad Aman and forward Coman.Rakan Al-Ghamdi (knee) and Sultan Al-Ghanam were out with knee injuries and Saad Al-Nasser was on the bench following a hamstring issue.Al-Nassr starting XI: Bento, Nawaf Boushal, Mohamed Simakan, Inigo Martinez, Awad Aman, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Samu Costa, Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mane, Joao Felix, Cristiano RonaldoAl-Nassr substitutes: Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi, Nader Al-Sharari, Majed Qasheesh, Saad Al-Nasser, Sami Al-Naji, Sufiany, Ayman Yahya, Saad Haqawi, Abdullah Al-HamdanAl Diriyah team vs Al NassrAbdullah replaced injured goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj in one of three alterations for Al-Diriyah from their 0-0 draw at home to Abha on September 13.Defenders Hussain Al Sibyani and Qasem Lajami also came in.Al-Diriyah starting XI: Waleed Abdullah, Abdulaziz Al-Faraj, Berat Djimsiti, Chancel Mbemba, Hussain Al Sibyani, Idrissa Gueye, Qasem Lajami, Enzo Millot, Oscar Rodriguez, Adil Boulbina, Darwin NunezAl-Diriyah substitutes: Mansour Al-Subiani, Saeed Al-Rabiei, Khalid Al-Asiri, Taher Wadi, Mohammed Dhiban, Sultan Al-Farhan, Hussain Al-Qahtani, Lovro Chelfi, Meshari Al-Nemer Recent Results : Al-Nassr Pro League Al-Nassr NAS W 3 0 2026-10-09 Al Diriyah Pro League Al Khaleej Saihat D 1 1 2026-09-12 Al-Nassr NAS Pro League Al-Nassr NAS W 2 1 2026-09-09 Abha ABH Pro League Al-Ittihad FC ITT L 2 1 2026-09-05 Al-Nassr NAS Pro League Al-Nassr NAS W 2 1 2026-08-28 Al Taawon Recent Results : Al Diriyah Pro League Al-Nassr NAS L 3 0 2026-10-09 Al Diriyah Pro League Al Diriyah D 0 0 2026-09-13 Abha ABH Pro League Al-Fateh FAT W 1 2 2026-09-09 Al Diriyah Pro League Al Diriyah L 0 2 2026-09-03 Al-Qadisiyah FC Pro League Al-Ettifaq ETT W 0 3 2026-08-29 Al Diriyah Saudi Pro League table: Full updated standings Pro League 2026 Saudi-Arabia Saudi Professional League #TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGDPtsLast 5 1 Al-Qadisiyah FC86112181319 W D W W W 2 Al-Hilal Saudi FC76012351818 W L W W W 3 Al-Ittihad FC7520126617 W W W D W 4 Al-Nassr7511167916 W D W L W 5 Al-Ahli Jeddah850320101015 W W L W L 6 NEOM7502136715 W W W L L 7 Al Kholood83321215-312 L L W D W 8 Al Diriyah732275211 L D W L W 9 Al-Ettifaq73221111011 D D W L L 10 Al-Hazm722379-28 L W D D L 11 Al Riyadh7223816-88 W D L W D 12 Al-Fayha7133711-46 D L D W D 13 Al Khaleej Saihat7052310-75 D D L L D 14 Al Shabab7043611-54 D L L D D 15 Al-Faisaly FC7034513-83 L D D L D 16 Al Taawon7034312-93 L L D L D 17 Al-Fateh8035415-113 L L L D D 18 Abha7025513-82 D L L L D Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion AFC Champions League (League phase) Position 5 : Promotion AFC Champions League (Qualification) Position 6 : Promotion AFC Champions League 2 Position 7 : Promotion Gulf Club Champions League Position 16, 17, 18 : Relegation Division 1 Al-Nassr v Al Diriyah statsAl-Nassr have a perfect home record this season (W4), with Ronaldo scoring once in each of the last three of those matchesThey have scored in each of their last 95 league games, although they were beaten 4-0 at Al-Ain in the Champions League in their previous matchSince a 4-0 win at Al-Riyadh in the division on 21 August, Al-Nassr had gone six matches in all competitions without a clean sheet before this gameOnly Al-Hilal (+18) and Al-Qadsiah (+13) have a better goal difference in the division than Al-Nassr (+12, F19 A7)Before the latest round of fixtures, only second-placed Al-Ahli could match Al-Diriyahs defensive record of five goals conceded in this seasons top flight, with those sides two of four to have shipped fewer than Al-Nassr (7)Since losing 4-1 at home to Al-Nassr in the King Cup on August 18, Al-Diriyahs only other defeat had come at home to leaders Al-Qadsiah (W3 D2)Their only previous meeting with Al-Nassr had been an away game in the King Cup last-32 in January 2016, losing 7-0 as Adrian Mierzejewski scored a hat-trickDespite conceding the most goals of any team in the second tier last season (39 in 34 matches), Al-Diriyah finished third before coming from behind in the play-off final to beat Al-Ula after extra timeOnly Abhas Sylla Sow and Al-Orobahs Simy (27 each) bettered Al-Diriyah forward Gaetan Labordes total of 26 goals during that campaignAl-Raeds Zinho Gano (3) was the only player to score more hat-tricks in last seasons second tier than Frenchman Laborde (2), hitting trebles against Al-Adalah and Jeddah Topics Al-Nassr FC Ange Postecoglou Cristiano Ronaldo Inigo Martinez Joao Felix Sadio Mane Saudi Pro League If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our 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