Joao Felix produced one of the performances of the Saudi Pro League season as Al Nassr thrashed Al Shabab 4-2 at King Fahd Stadium on Thursday night to stay firmly on course for their first-ever SPL title. The Portuguese forward scored a hat-trick, Cristiano Ronaldo added a fourth, and Al Nassr now lead Al Hilal by five points heading into the May 12 Riyadh Derby — which will almost certainly decide who is crowned champions.


THE GOALS


Felix wasted no time. He gave Al Nassr the lead inside three minutes, finding space inside the penalty area and guiding a low finish into the bottom corner. He doubled the lead in the 10th minute with a composed second — Al Nassr in dreamland barely ten minutes in. Yannick Carrasco pulled one back for Al Shabab in the 30th minute to make it 2-1 at half-time.


The second half was tense. Al Shabab pushed for an equaliser — Josh Brownhill forced a smart save from Bento, and Carrasco went close again. But Al Nassr's cutting edge was decisive. In the 75th minute, Mane drove forward and picked out Ronaldo inside the area. The Portuguese captain made no mistake — firing home from close range for his 907th career goal. Al Shabab refused to give up and Ali Al Bulayhi headed home a knockdown in the 80th minute to make it 3-2, setting up a nervy final ten minutes. Felix then sealed it deep into stoppage time after a VAR review awarded a penalty — Grohe brought down substitute Al Hamdan — and Felix stepped up to complete his hat-trick and make it 4-2 in the 90+8th minute.


THE NUMBERS


Al Nassr: 82 points from 32 games. Al Hilal: 77 points from 32 games. Gap: five points. Both teams have two games remaining — the Derby on May 12 and one final fixture each. If Al Nassr win the Derby, the title is theirs with a game to spare. If Al Hilal win, the gap closes to two points and the final day on May 21 decides everything.


WHAT IT MEANS


Al Nassr are on the brink. Five points clear with two games left — including a home Derby against the only team who can stop them. Joao Felix was the man of the match by some distance, scoring three and tormenting the Al Shabab defence all evening. Ronaldo scored and now stands at 907 career goals — 93 away from a landmark 1,000. Jorge Jesus said after the game: "This is what we have been working for all season. Now we must focus on Tuesday." For Ronaldo, the title he has chased for three Saudi seasons has never been this close. One more win — ideally on Tuesday — and the dream is real.