Cristiano Ronaldo, Mane on target as Al Nassr bounce back
Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane’s second half strikes secured crucial three points for title aspirants Al-Nassr against Al-Wehda in Saudi Pro League.
The match started an hour after the scheduled kick-off time as Al-Nassr’s team bus broke down en route to The King Abdulaziz Sports City.
The visitors started the game without two star players Marcelo Brozovic and Jhon Duran who missed due to suspension.
To make matters worse, star defender Aymeric Laporte was forced to leave the pitch with an injury in the 12th minute of the match as Salem Al-Najdi replaced him.
Al-Nassr failed to make any major impact in the first 45 minutes as the hosts dominated proceedings.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Cristiano Ronaldo got a chance on the stroke of half-time to break the deadlock as he unleashed a powerful shot but Al-Owaishir did well to make a diving save and deny the superstar from scoring the opener.
Al-Wehda’s resistance did not last long though, as Ronaldo finally scored just three minutes into the second half. Angelo Gabriel sent in an inch-perfect curling cross from the right flank and the Portugal icon comfortably found the back of the net with a header.
Just eight minutes after conceding the goal, Al-Wehda had a golden opportunity to restore parity in the game when Morad Mohammad Abdullah Khodari found himself in a scoring position from close range. The forward, initially, did well to control the ball but his final delivery was way off target.
In the dying moments of the match, Al-Nassr were awarded a penalty when an Al-Wehda player used his arm to block Ronaldo’s free-kick. Sadio Mane took the resulting spot-kick and found the back of the net to secure the victory.
THE MVP
Ronaldo was kept silent for the majority of the first half and his first attempt at goal, on the stroke of half-time was saved by the goalkeeper. The lethal goalscorer, however, rose to the occasion just after the break and ensured his side walked away with all three points with a clinical header.
THE BIG LOSER
Abdullah Khodari had the easiest chance of the match to score the equaliser less than 10 minutes after Al-Wehda conceded. He initially did well to control the ball inside the Al-Nassr box and found himself in a goalscoring position, but his final shot was off target from a close range.
