Saudi Arabian giants Al Nassr secured a hard-fought win over United Arab Emirates’s Shabab Al Ahli in Riyadh on Tuesday night (August 23). The 4-2 comeback win in the qualifier allowed Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. to book a place in the group stage of the AFC Champions League.
Al Nassr got their noses in front after only 11 minutes of play, with Anderson Talisca heading home Marcelo Brozovic’s inch-perfect corner. The visitors, however, refused to back down and leveled the score just seven minutes later. Yahya Al Ghassani applied a right-footed finish from close range to equalize for Shabab Al Ahli.
The Saudi club found themselves in a mess just two minutes into the break when Al Ghassani produced another excellent striker and put his team in front.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr played excellent football in the dying embers
Having been on the back foot for most of the game, Al Nassr sprung back to life in the closing moments of Tuesday’s decider. Sultan Al Ghanam scored a fine header off Ayman Ahmed’s delivery in the 89th minute, bringing the score to 2-2. Six minutes into injury time, Ahmed popped up with another moment of magic, this time setting up Talisca for the go-ahead goal. The Saudi Pro League club got the insurance goal in the seventh minute of injury time, with Ronaldo setting up Brozovic with a slide rule pass.
Courtesy of their 4-2 victory at the KSU Football Field, Al Nassr have booked their place in Wednesday’s (August 23, 4:00 PM ET) AFC Champions League group stage draw in Kuala Lumpur. Alongside Ronaldo’s men, Saudi sides Al Hilal and Al Ittihad have also secured passage into the group stage of the continent’s most prestigious competition.
Ronaldo saw three penalty shouts waved off against Shahab Al Ahli
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to get on the scoresheet in Tuesday’s crucial clash in Riyadh, but it was not for lack of trying. He kept making inroads into the opposition box and always looked for ways to test the keeper. Al Nassr fans also thought that their talisman should have had three penalties against the UAE outfit, as he was deliberately blocked by the defenders.
In the first instance, which took place in the first 10 minutes of the first half, saw the 38-year-old body-checked by two defenders inside the box. The referee dismissed his penalty claim and asked him to carry on.
Amount of Penalty fouls on Ronaldo: 3
Amount of Penalties given to Ronaldo: 0 pic.twitter.com/aAt6mQg1fB
— GC (@GettyCristiano) August 22, 2023
Then, in first-half injury time, Ronaldo was once again body-checked when cutting in from the left, and it seemed like there was clear contact from the defender. The referee, unmoved, asked the Real Madrid legend to drop the appeal. The last shout came in the second half when his shot from an acrobatic overhead kick deflected off a defender’s outstretched arm and went out of harm’s way. The referee remained unaffected and turned the No. 7 down for the third time on the night.
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