VIDEO: Cristiano Ronaldo responds to Lionel Messi chants from rivals fans with defiant gesture as Al-Nassr progress to AFC Champions League Two semi-finals

The Al-Nassr captain opened the scoring in the 11th minute of their quarter-final clash against Al Wasl at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai. Converting a precise cross from Boushal, Ronaldo netted his 970th career goal, edging him ever closer to the historic 1,000-goal milestone. Despite his dominance on the field, the 41-year-old was subjected to the familiar "Messi, Messi" chants from the rival supporters. However, Ronaldo chose to address the crowd directly with a pair of defiant gestures that have since gone viral on social media. The legendary forward responded by putting his finger to his lips to demand silence from the stands, before following up with a "calma" sign, urging the supporters to relax as he continued to dominate the proceedings.

Al-Nassr proved too much for their opponents to handle as they romped to a 4-0 victory. Following Ronaldo's opener, Inigo Martínez doubled the lead in the 24th minute, followed quickly by Abdulelah Al-Amri just two minutes later. Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane put the icing on the cake with a fourth goal in the 80th minute. Ronaldo’s evening ended in the 67th minute when he was substituted for Abdullah Al-Hamdan, having already done the heavy lifting for his side. During his time on the pitch, he recorded 24 touches and registered three shots, remaining the focal point of an Al-Nassr attack that has looked increasingly potent in the continental competition.

The West Region quarter-final fixtures were originally scheduled to take place between March 3 and 10 but were postponed by the AFC due to impacts from the Iran war, with the decision made to change the ties to single-leg matches in centralised venues. Al-Nassr's win has set up a semi-final against Qatar’s Al Ahli SC on Wednesday, with the winner of this match then facing Japanese club Gamba Osaka, who have already reached the final.