Al-Nasr, without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo and without Luis Castro on the bench due to health problems, won this Friday against Al-Faihi with a score of 3:1 in the 28th round of the Saudi Football League.
However, the result did not reflect the difficulties faced by Al Nasr, who only managed to secure victory in the final quarter of an hour after going behind from the sixth minute due to a goal from Zambian striker Moda Sakala.
Al-Nasr were at a disadvantage on the scoreboard for so long not because of a lack of goal-scoring opportunities, but because of a lack of efficiency, particularly from Senegalese striker Sadio Mane, who even converted a penalty in the 42nd minute thanks to a through ball. the crossbar and the excellent play of Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, a former Sporting player.
It wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Al-Nasr began a comeback, equalizing through center back Abdulele Al-Amri following a corner kick taken by Brazilian Alex Telles, a former Porto player, four minutes later in the 76th minute. Sadio Mane recovered and made it 2:1 after a pass from Portugal national team player Otavio, and Stojkovic barely beat it.
The Senegal international scored twice in the 82nd minute after an individual play ended with an unguarded shot in the box, making the final score 3–1.
Cristiano Ronaldo remained out of the sights of coach Vitor Severino, Luis Castro’s assistant in charge of the team, due to minor surgery he underwent as he was sent off in the Saudi Super League semi-final match. Cup against Jorge Jesus’ Al-Hilal, for which he received a two-game suspension.
Al-Hilal lead the championship with 77 points, followed by Al-Nasr with 68 (one more game) and Al-Ahly with 52, with seven rounds remaining and Jorge Jesus’ team in a privileged position to become champions, replacing Al-Hilal Ittihad. , winner of the trophy under the technical command of the Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo.
Even without playing, Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list of top scorers with 29 goals, followed by Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al-Hilal with 22 goals and Moroccan striker Abderrazaq Hamdallah of Al-Ittihad with 18 goals.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.