Cristiano Ronaldo apologizes for delayed kickoff in Al Nassr's victory over Al-Wehda in Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his apologies following the delay of Al Nassr's match against Al Wehda, which was caused by traffic congestion. Despite the setback, he managed to score and secure a penalty, contributing to a 2-0 victory in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, demonstrating sportsmanship, permitted his teammate Sadio Mane to take the penalty kick. The match was delayed for one hour after the team bus arrived nine minutes past the scheduled kick-off time.

Currently, Stefano Pioli's team occupies the third position with 47 points, trailing the leaders Al Ittihad by eight points, who have a game in hand, and are four points behind second-placed Al Hilal.

"It was a tough game. The first half was difficult because we did a journey three hours in the bus because of traffic and the roads were closed," Ronaldo told SSC sports.

"I want to apologise on behalf of Al Nassr for starting the game late. This is should not happen again. Sorry," the 40-year-old Portugal international added.

"We started not very good, but in second half we were a little bet better. We fixed our issues and we scored two goals so we are happy."

Ronaldo praised his teammates as they bounced back following a loss to Al Ettifaq.

"(The comeback) should be like that. This is Al-Nassr we have to react ... We have to continue to win and let's see what's going to happen."

Ronaldo stated that the team's attention is directed towards both the SPL and the AFC Champions League Elite, where they will compete against Esteghlal Tehran in the Round of 16 on Monday.

"Game-by-game, we have to build again the confidence ... We have to do it again we have to win, win, win and let's see what's going to happen".

Ronaldo leads the SPL's scoring list with 17 goals this season, one ahead of Al Ittihad's Karim Benzema.