Cristiano Ronaldo’s guided Al Nassr to a comfortable 2-0 away victory over Al Wehda in a Saudi Pro League 2024-24 match at King Abdul Aziz Stadium in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (IST).
Drama unfolded before the first whistle, as technical problems with Al Nassr’s team bus forced a one-hour postponement of the match’s start.
The first half showcased was muted affair from both sides. Both goalkeepers had very little to as players are showing very little attacking intent.
Al Wehda vs AL Nassr Highlights
Nassr took the lead just three minutes after the restart. Second-half substitute Angelo with an inch-perfect cross found Ronaldo at the far post, whose glanced header broke the deadlock. It was the 17th league goal of the season for the Portuguese striker.
After falling behind, Al Wehda showed character and ventured into the opposition box withy regularity but missed several opportunities.
Striker Morad Mohammed Abdullah Khodari missed a golden opportunity to equalise for the home side just before the hour mark. The Mecca-based team again came close to finding the equaliser but Youssef Amyn’s cross aimed at Craig Goodwin’s run to the far post was crucially intercepted by Al Fatil.
During the stoppage-time of the second essay, Ronaldo won a free-kick and then from his set-piece hit Juninho Bacuna at Al Wehda wall and went out for a corner. Al Nassr players appealed for a penalty. The referee was suggested by the VAR to look at the screen. After consultation, the referee deemed the ball came of the elbow, which was away from the body and pointed to the spot.
To everyone’s surprise, Ronaldo left the penalty for Sadio Mane and the Senegalese made no mistake from the spot.
With this win Al Nassr climbed to third in the table with 47 points from 22 matches.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com