Ronaldo’s magic falls short as Al-Raed holds Al-Nassr for a draw: Report

Al Nassr had to settle for a draw in their first Roshn Saudi Professional League match this season against Al Raed after the latter’s goalkeeper put up a classic show of saves against the forwards of Al Nassr especially after the early goal of Cristiano Ronaldo that gave the former a lead.

Ronaldo put Al Nassr ahead in the game with a header following a well placed cross from winger Sadio Mane making it the 22nd goal of the Portuguese international. But the lead was minimised after Al Raed captain Mohamed Fouzair scored after getting a penalty from a foul conceded by Al Nassr centre back Aymeric Laporte. 

Al Nassr struggled to assert dominance throughout the match. The first half was evenly contested with Al Raed giving quite a fight challenging the defences of Luis Castro’s side. Although Ronaldo scored in the first half to give his team a much needed boost, his team’s defensive weakness was felt in the second half as Al Raed scored after the foul inside the box resulting in the penalty.

Mshari Sanyoor showed his class, protecting the Al Raed goalpost like a wall making crucial saves against Sadio Mane in the 60th minute and another against Laporte that also came later in the second half. 

However he was deceived when Cristiano put the ball in the net after getting a inch perfect pass from Marcelo Brozovic but the goal was ruled out as offside after a review frustrating the Al Nassr team as they couldn’t secure the 3 points in their game in the Saudi Pro League.

 The win was much needed for Al Nassr after a 4-1 disheartening loss conceded against Al Hilal in the Diriyah Super Cup final last week. Last season, Al Raed had defeated Al Nassr in a match that resulted in a 3-1 scoreline. Luis Castro’s team who were the Runners Up last season need to find their match winning form as soon as possible to have a fair chance of winning the league cup this season.

Al Nassr team has some additions, Brazilian goalkeeper Bento Matheus and left back Salem Al Najdi from Al Fateh has joined the team.