Samu Costa scores for Al Nassr in his debut, dedicates victory to Cristiano Ronaldo
Samu Costa scored on his Al Nassr debut in the win over Al Fateh and dedicated the victory to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was absent from the match. Samu Costa marked his Al Nassr debut in style, scoring in a 3-0 win over Al Fateh in the club’s Saudi Pro League opener on August 15 — his first appearance since joining Cristiano Ronaldo‘s side. The Portuguese midfielder found the net alongside goals from Joao Felix and Angelo as Al Nassr began the new season with a statement victory. Speaking after the match, Costa reflected on the win and made a point of including Ronaldo in his praise, despite the Portuguese superstar not featuring in the squad. “A good start. We worked hard and deserved the three points. I dedicate the victory to my family, my teammates, and Cristiano Ronaldo,” Costa said. Ronaldo’s absence from the matchday squad was a deliberate call by new head coach Ange Postecoglou, who only recently took charge at Al Nassr. Ronaldo had rejoined training just two days before the match, having spent recent weeks away from the squad following his marriage to Georgina Rodriguez. With Ronaldo sidelined for the opener, it was Angelo, Costa and Felix who stepped up to deliver the win, giving Postecoglou an encouraging start to his tenure in Riyadh. All eyes will now turn to when Ronaldo is expected to make his own season debut for the club. First game. First win. First celebration 🤩💛Samú Costa gets the full Nassr welcome pic.twitter.com/pZE3T9oj9K— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) August 15, 2026 Ronaldo eyeing return for matchday 2 It was to be expected that Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t feature at the start of Al Nassr‘s 2026-27 Saudi Pro League campaign, having missed every training session with the squad and sat out the entire preseason. According to reports out of Saudi Arabia, the captain is also expected to miss Al Nassr’s King Champions Cup opener against Diriyah Club on August 18, with his return now targeted for matchday 2 of the Saudi Pro League against Al Riyadh on August 21.
