Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second hat trick in 72 hours, as Al-Nassr defeated Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.
The five-time Ballon D’Or winner scored three goals and assisted twice in the first half for the nine-time Saudi champions.

The hat trick was his third of the league season, following his three goals in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Al-Tai. The Portuguese striker leads the league with 29 goals.

Ronaldo’s first two goals on Tuesday were from free kicks. With 11 minutes remaining, he opened the scoring with a low shot from a central position just beyond the box. The second came 10 minutes later, when he curled the ball around the wall on the left side.

Ronaldo then assisted Sadio Mané for Al-Nassr’s third goal shortly after the half-hour mark, bringing the ball back from the left for the former Liverpool forward to score.

Three minutes before halftime, Ronaldo accomplished his hat trick with a brilliant chip from outside the area as he sprinted towards goal. There was still time in the first half for Ronaldo to pass the ball to his right, where Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim scored from close range.

The star was removed at the break, but Al-Nassr continued to pinpoint the target. Abdulrahman Ghareeb, a Saudi Arabian international, added a sixth shortly after the restart, and replacement Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa scored twice more.

Despite the win, Al-Nassr remains second, 12 points behind runaway leader Al-Hilal with eight games remaining.

Al-Hilal confirmed earlier in the day that striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, second behind Ronaldo with 22 goals, is expected to miss the rest of the season due to injury.