Joao Felix steps up without Cristiano Ronaldo! Portuguese star explains how he handled 14-game Al-Nassr goal drought

Felix's brace against Al-Khaleej was a timely reminder of his clinical edge. The breakthrough came in spectacular fashion during the 5-0 routing of Al-Khaleej. Felix scored Al-Nassr's third and fourth goals, with his second being the pick of the bunch. He expertly controlled a sharp pass from Angelo with his right foot, flicking it onto his left before volleying past goalkeeper Anthony Moris. Al-Nassr cruised to victory despite being without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who is still absent due to injury.

While fans and media were beginning to focus on his 14-game wait for a goal, Felix insisted he never lost sleep over the statistics. The 26-year-old attributed his calm approach to his experience at the highest level of European football. Speaking after the final whistle, he offered a candid look into his mindset during the difficult period.

“This comes with maturity,” Felix explained to the league's official website. “I'm not new in the game, so I know how I need to deal with those kinds of things. If I'm not scoring, it's OK. It happens. But sometimes I will shoot bad and it goes in, and sometimes I shoot good and it doesn't go in. So I just need to be calm, just to stay relaxed, because the goals will appear when I need.”

The timing of Felix's return to form could not be better for Al-Nassr. With only eight rounds of the season remaining, the Riyadh club sit top of the table, three points clear of local rivals Al-Hilal and five ahead of Al-Ahli. The race for Saudi League title has become a four-way battle, with Brendan Rodgers' Al-Qadsiah also surging into contention just seven points off the lead.

Felix is well aware of the competition surrounding them, but he believes Al-Nassr are the masters of their own destiny. “Yeah, of course we know the results [of our title rivals],” he said. “Yesterday we saw the [Al-Qadsiah versus Al-Ahli] game. Today, I don't know the Al-Hilal score [yet], but we are first. If we do our job, we will win the league. We just depend on ourselves. And that's our focus.”

Al-Nassr will next host Al-Najma looking to maintain their position at the top of the table. In addition to his brace, Felix ended the match with his 11th assist of the season, moving him to the top of the league's creativity charts. With 15 league goals now to his name, the forward is finding his rhythm at the perfect moment as Al-Nassr look to secure silverware. "We are well; we are on the right track," Felix said.