Riyadh (AFP)
Al-Nasr won the summit meeting with Al-Ahly, at Al-Awal Park Stadium in Riyadh, by defeating them 4-3, in an exciting match that witnessed both Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian Anderson Talisca scoring two wonderful braces, in the seventh stage of the Saudi Football Championship.
Al-Nasr raised its score to 15 points, rising to fifth place at the expense of Al-Ahly itself, with a goal difference from it, and is now 3 points away from the leaders Al-Ittihad.
After the “bump in the beginning,” Al-Nasr started strong by achieving seven consecutive victories, five of which were in the league and two in Asia, during which they scored 27 goals, conceding only six goals.
Al-Nasr went into the anticipated confrontation ecstatic, after returning from Tehran, by defeating Persepolis 2-0, at the beginning of its campaign in the AFC Champions League.
Ronaldo said in television statements after the match, “We started the match wonderfully, and advanced by two goals. I think the most important thing in the match was winning and making our fans happy.”
He pointed out that passion is the key to his continuity on the field, saying, “I love this game, and as long as I have legs that can handle it, I will continue to play.”
The smoke of firecrackers had not yet subsided, throughout the stadium, when Al-Nasr opened the scoring, following a pass from Senegalese Sadio Mane, towards Ronaldo, who walked with the ball and shot it creeping with his left hand, out of the reach of Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (5).
Ronaldo almost added the second goal, when the Brazilian Talisca passed him a perfect cross inside the area, which the Portuguese followed from close range, with the goal open in front of him at the bottom of the post (9).
But Al-Nasr succeeded in strengthening its lead, when Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte passed a header towards Talisca at the far post, and the latter also headed it into the net (17).
However, Al-Ahly gradually began to enter the atmosphere of the match, and succeeded in reducing the difference, through its Ivorian midfielder, Franck Kessé, taking advantage of a forward through pass, to make his way towards the goal, go one-on-one with the goalkeeper and shoot to his left “30”.
Al-Ahly had an opportunity to equalize in stoppage time of the first half, when the young Spanish midfielder Gabri Vega made a wonderful technical move inside the area, and got rid of two defenders, before passing towards Frenchman Alain Saint-Maximan, but one of Al-Nasr’s defenders intervened at the last minute to save the match. Situation.
Al-Ahly paid dearly for wasting this opportunity, because Al-Nasr succeeded in the next attack in adding the third goal, when the ball arrived on the outskirts of the area, towards Talisca. He controlled it, before launching it powerfully with his left hand, which hit the crossbar and tumbled into the net, strengthening his team’s lead before the end of the half whistle. the first.
At the beginning of the second half, the referee awarded a penalty kick, after Talisca obstructed Bassam Al-Huraiji, which was successfully awarded by Algerian Riyad Mahrez (49), and after Mane missed the opportunity to score the fourth scorer, after he was alone in the goal and shot the ball high, Ronaldo did the job perfectly. When the ball reached him from Talisca, he got rid of one of Al-Ahly’s defenders with a technical move with the “heel” of the foot, and shot a sliding ball with his left hand from outside the area into the net “52”.
Ronaldo thus strengthened his lead in the scorers’ standings with 9 goals, making him 3 goals ahead of his teammate Mane and Al Hilal captain Salem Al Dosari, each of whom had six goals.
Saudi national team striker Firas Al-Braikan, who came on as a substitute midway through the second half, succeeded in reducing the difference two minutes before the end of the match, taking advantage of a pass from Mahrez.
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