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Cristiano Ronaldo Sets Three-Word Challenge After Stunning Overhead Kick

History repeated itself for Ronaldo with a goal to savor for Al Nassr.

Grey Whitebloom

Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years with a stunning strike for Al Nassr.
Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years with a stunning strike for Al Nassr. / Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo called upon his legion of fans to capture the majesty of his overhead kick goal for Al Nassr on Sunday night with a challenge on social media: “Best caption wins!”

The 40-year-old Portuguese icon rolled back the years with an acrobatic effort in the 96th minute of Al Nassr’s 4–1 victory over Al Khaleej, extending the club’s perfect start to the Saudi Pro League season to nine successive wins.

After a premature elimination from the King’s Cup in October delayed Ronaldo’s quest for a major trophy in the Kingdom, Al Nassr have made a strong push to claim top-flight glory this year.

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Yet, despite his spectacular exploits, this has not been a vintage campaign for the relentless goalscorer. Much like Sunday’s ascent up an invisible staircase into the sky, the vast majority of Ronaldo’s 10 league goals this season have not decisively swung the game in Al Nassr’s favor.

In fact, only twice this year has the club captain scored while his team weren’t already winning. The first of those saw Ronaldo nudge Al Nassr into a 2–1 lead against Al Fateh before his teammates piled on in what turned out to be a 5–1 win. The Portugal international did convert a dramatic 104th-minute penalty to earn a 2–1 victory over Al Fayha earlier this month, although that spot kick was awarded in extremely dubious circumstances.

Ronaldo isn’t even Al Nassr’s top scorer this season, with his compatriot João Félix leading the way on 11 league goals.

History Repeating Itself for Ronaldo

Many of the captions beneath Ronaldo’s social media challenge which weren’t simply goat emojis invariably referred to his eerily similar strike against Juventus in April 2018. The then-Real Madrid forward contorted his body to meet Dani Carvajal’s wayward cross, emphatically wrong-footing the legendary Gianluigi Buffon to score his second in a famous 3–0 Champions League quarterfinal win.

Ronaldo is never one to shy away from self-aggrandizing statements, but few could begrudge the forward’s assessment of his own strike. “It was spectacular,” he gushed. “I jumped very high and it’s a goal that will live long in the memory.

“I’ve been looking to do it for a while, but it depends on the circumstances of the game. It just came to me to give it a go, you always have to try it. I tried it today and it came off.”

The reaction of the Juventus crowd, who rose as one to applaud the moment of magic, said everything about its quality. “It was one of the most poignant moments of the night,” Ronaldo would reflect afterwards. “To receive applause from a stadium like this, which has been graced by great players, is a unique experience.”

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.

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