Al Nassr beat Al Faisaly, but Cristiano’s second goal is disputed

Al Nassr secured a 3-1 win over Al Faisaly, but its second goal prompted disagreement over who should be credited with scoring. The incident directly affects Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally: early reports assigned the goal to him, while Opta recorded it as an own goal by Andrei Girotto.

The sequence helps explain the conflicting classifications. Cristiano tried to meet the ball, which ended up in the net after Girotto intervened. The Saudi Pro League and Al Nassr credited the goal to the Portuguese forward, whereas Opta assigned it to the defender as an own goal. The incident extended Al Nassr’s advantage while leaving two different versions in the statistical records.

That distinction reflects Opta’s approach, which separates a goal scored by an attacker from an own goal by a defender. The disagreement is not about the match result, but about the attribution of one goal. It concerns Al Nassr’s second against Al Faisaly and, in turn, whether it belongs in Ronaldo’s individual tally.

The goal was presented as Cristiano’s 982nd, but that figure depends on how the incident is classified. It remains 982 in the Saudi Pro League’s record unless the league changes its count; it had not done so at the time of the reports. Mundo Deportivo has highlighted the significance of the tally as Cristiano pursues 1,000 official goals. A different attribution would not alter Al Nassr’s 3-1 victory, but it would change the place of this action in the player’s personal total.

The win, reported as having come on Friday, is clear on the scoreboard, while the credit for this goal remains contested. The point of dispute is specific: the league and the club award it to Cristiano, while Opta classifies it as an own goal.