Absence of Ronaldo Leads to Al Nassr’s Reversal in Saudi League Season Opener
“Watch the video of Sadio Mane’s opening goal at the end of the article.”
On a day when Cristiano Ronaldo was sidelined, Al Nassr suffered a 1-2 defeat against Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in the opening match of the new Saudi League season.
Goals:
Al-Ettifaq: Quaison (47′), Dembele (53′)
Al Nassr: Mane (4′)
Just a few days after securing the Arab Clubs Champions Cup title, Al Nassr entered the Saudi League opener without risking Ronaldo due to his ongoing injury recovery. The burden of scoring for the away team fell upon Sadio Mane.
In the 4th minute, the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward swiftly executed a shot to score the opening goal for the visiting team. This marked the 31-year-old Senegalese striker’s first goal for Al Nassr, and he celebrated with great emotion.
Al Nassr’s performance gained even more momentum after the early goal. In fact, Mane could have completed a personal brace by the end of the first half if luck had favored him.
After halftime, the momentum shifted as the hosts, Al-Ettifaq, surged forward and swiftly scored two goals.
Quaison (47′) and Dembele (53′) both contributed to Al-Ettifaq’s successful comeback under the leadership of manager Steven Gerrard.
Subsequently, Al Nassr struggled to find an equalizer. The team’s performance was disappointing in their season opener, with Ronaldo absent due to injury.
Player Ratings:
Sadio Mane received the highest rating in the team for his opening goal, earning a score of 7.6.
Ghareeb had a lackluster performance, receiving a rating of 6.4.
Sulaiheem received a rating of 6.7.
Hassan received a rating of 7.3.
Alawi received a rating of 6.6.
Alkhaibari received a rating of 6.8.
Konan received a rating of 7.1.
Mukhtar received a rating of 6.6.
Al-Fatil received a rating of 6.5.
Boushal received a rating of 7.0.
Starting Lineups:
Al-Ettifaq: Paulo Victor, Al-Hawsawi (Yousef 72′), Tisserand, Hendry, Khateeb, Ali Hazazi (Mohammed 72′), Henderson (Ozdemir 88′), Ahmed Al-Ghamdi (Vitinho 46′), Quaison, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Moussa Dembele (Hamed Alghamdi 85′).
Al Nassr: Al-Aqidi, Al Boushail (Sahlouli 90′), Al Fatil, Al Khaibari, Konan, Mukhtar Ali, Al Aliwa (Al-Ghannam 46′), Al Hassan (Adam Mohammed 71′), Ghareeb (Yahya 71′), Al Sulayhim (Al Naji 65′), Mane.
