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Cristiano Ronaldo was evidently in a jubilant mood after captaining Al-Nassr to victory against Ettifaq on Sunday (22 January).
The Portugal icon joined the Saudi Pro League in the last week of December after his unceremonious exit from Manchester United in November.
However, he had to wait until 19 January to make his debut for the club due to a two-game suspension for his antics against an Everton fan in April. It came in a 5-4 loss against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), where he scored a brace.
Given that the game against Les Parisiens was an exhibition game, his official debut for the club came in a 1-0 win against Ettifaq. A 31st-minute goal from Anderson Talisca was enough to hand the Riyadh-based giants all three points at home.
Cristiano Ronaldo nearly got his head on Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem's cross, but Talisca, who was just behind him in the box, got the telling touch. The former Real Madrid forward played the full 90 minutes and was seen happily congratulating his teammates after the full-time whistle.
His interaction with his new teammates following the win can be seen in the video below (h/t @CristianoXtra_):
He also went on to greet the home fans at a packed Mrsool Park with his teammates. The win takes Al-Nassr one point above second-placed Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League table.
The former has amassed 33 points in 14 matches this season and has a game in hand over Al-Hilal. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, had an average display by his high standards.
He managed to get just one out of his four attempted shots on target, but created two goal-scoring chances for his teammates and completed 89% of his 27 attempted passes.
Rudy Garcia gives verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr debut
Al-Nassr manager Rudy Garcia was pleased with Cristiano Ronaldo's impact in the 1-0 win against Ettifaq.
He claimed that the team has changed the way they play to make both Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca the focal point of their attacks. Speaking after the win, the former Olympique Lyonnais manager said (h/t the Daily Star):
"It's a positive addition when you have a player like Ronaldo as he helps to distract the defenders, which is what happened with our goal"
"Today we created opportunities for him and asked the players to diversify the game between him and Talisca, and we must not forget that he participated in the (exhibition match against) Paris St Germain and did not get enough rest."
Cristiano Ronaldo's next appearance for Al-Nassr could come in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al-Ittihad on 26 January at the King Fahd International Stadium.
