Just when it looked an evening to forget, Ronaldo once again proves inevitable

Even as his critics focus on how his powers are seemingly waning -- which would not exactly be that surprising given he is closing in on his 40th birthday -- Cristiano Ronaldo continues to score for fun.

Last season, he broke the Saudi Pro League single-season scoring record with a staggering 35-goal haul from just 31 appearances.

His closest challenger? Aleksandar Mitrović with 28.

And lest there be any eyebrows raised from naysayers over the perceived quality of the SPL, it was not exactly a walk in the park for fellow luminaries like Karim Benzema (nine goals from 21 appearances) and Roberto Firmino (nine from 32).

He recently became the first male footballer to hit 900 goals in official matches, having started 2024-25 in his trademark free-scoring form.

But as he made his AFC Champions League Elite bow against Al Rayyan on Monday -- having missed Al Nassr's campaign opener a fortnight ago through illness -- it initially looked like it might be one of those uncommon nights at the office.

He spurned a couple of golden opportunites in the opening 45, including a towering free header at the back post that he would normally dispatch into the back of the net with his eyes closed.

When he did eventually put the ball past Al Rayyan goalkeeper Paulo Victor two minutes into the second half, the strike was ruled out for a marginal-but-correct offside call after he had gotten in behind the opposition backline with a run off the shoulder of the last defender which he had executed to perfection countless times in the past.

By then, Al Nassr were already in the lead thanks to Sadio Mané, who -- right on the stroke of halftime -- had found space inside the six-yard box to head home an excellent delivery into the area by Sultan Al-Ghannam.

Still, a one-goal lead was never going to offer Al Nassr much security especially against an Al Rayyan outfit that had enough quality to pose a threat. There remained a chance that Ronaldo's earlier misses would come back to haunt them.

Yet, while he perhaps may not be clinical as he was once -- and it must be acknowledged that his peak level of deadliness in front of goal was unsurpassed -- he remains inevitable.

With 14 minutes remaining, that would once again prove to be the case.

Plenty of credit has to go to substitute Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who did brilliantly to get past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box with his dancing feet and -- just as it looked like he had waited too long to release the ball -- managed to prod the ball out right as a covering defender was closing in.

Just as he had done hundreds of times before, the Portugal icon -- without taking a first touch -- would proceed to lash a first-time effort on his left foot past Victor's despairing dive and into the far corner.

And it would prove crucial as Róger Guedes pulled one back for Al Rayyan with three minutes remaining, although Al Nassr were able to hold out for a 2-1 win and their first three points in the ACL Elite after an opening draw with Al Shorta.

For the 7th time in eight games so far this term, Ronaldo was on the scoresheet and the difference maker -- as is the case more often than not.

Even on an evening which initially looked like it might be one to forget.