Ronaldo wins over Al-Tawoun as Al-Nassr wins in Saudi Pro League
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo scored all four goals in Al-Nassr’s thrashing of Al-Weidah last week, and on Friday he turned provider, setting up both goals to give his new team a 2-1 win over Al-Tawaun and replace Took it back Roshan at the top of the Saudi league.
The result means three teams are now level on four points at the summit, in what is turning into one of the closest and most exciting title races anywhere, although there is still a long way to go.
In an engrossing clash that could have gone either way, Al-Nassr will be relieved to beat the only team they have lost this season and it was a vital win. Earlier in the week, Al-Shabab beat Abha 2–0 and Al-Ittihad won 3–0 at Atifaq to move above Al-Nassr.
This meant that the pressure was on the Yellow team against Al-Tawoun, who have had a good season under Pericles Chamuska. Had Buraydah Organization won, they would have leapfrogged Al-Hilal into fourth place, who are busy with the FIFA Club World Cup and are now preparing for the resumption of the Asian Champions League on Monday.
Ronaldo has domestic matters on his mind at the moment, and the former Real Madrid and Manchester United man is full of smiles in Saudi Arabia, especially since he has scored five goals in his last two games since joining the club in December. He looked in mood from the off, and early in the game the 38-year-old was turning and roaming outside the area before unleashing a fierce shot that was just high and wide.
After a tight start, Al-Nassr took the lead after 18 minutes. Ronaldo collected the ball just inside the halfway point and released a delightful first-time pass that dissected the Al-Tawoun defense to free Abdulrahman Gharib. He still had plenty of work to do and, just inside the area, raced the ball over the goalkeeper.
In the final seconds of the first half, Ronaldo turned beautifully on the halfway line and released Gharib on the left, but his dangerous low cross was well blocked by Melson.
Al-Taawoon stepped it up a notch after the break and took a nap in All-Nasr’s defense at the start of the second half. A right-sided cross from Mohamed Al-Ghamdi found Alvaro Medran stealing at the far post to side-foot the ball into the Nasser net to give goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi no chance.
The game started unfolding. Both teams continued to push forward and had half chances, the ball did not fall to their dangerous players inside the area. Just after the hour, Al-Nassr appealed for a penalty following a Hassan Kadesh handball, but the referee and then the VAR did not agree.
This was followed by two VAR interventions which changed the officials’ decisions and the game as well.
However, after 67 minutes, Al-Tawaun thought they had taken the lead. Leandre Twamba picked up the ball just outside the area and then cleverly slotted the ball past Al-Aqidi.
The Cameroonian striker was speculated to have been slightly offside when the initial pass was played.
Then Ronaldo, standing on the edge of the six-yard box, laid the ball for centre-back Abdullah Madou to score. The flag was immediately upturned against the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who was convinced VAR would provide redemption. After a lengthy delay, the referee reviewed and agreed with the Portuguese attacker as Al-Nassr retained the lead with eight minutes remaining.
There was still time for more entertainment and drama, and Al-Tawoun came close in the last minute. Sumayhan Al-Nabit broke free on the right and as soon as he entered the area, he had the goalkeeper to beat. His option to challenge Al-Aqidi looked to be the right one, but the ball rolled just millimeters wide of the left-hand post. This was their last chance and they would be disappointed to go home with nothing.
Al-Nasr won’t care. With Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal now eight points off the top, but with Asian Champions League action busy over the next few days, Al-Nassr have a chance to get some points on the board. With Ronaldo being in this form, few would bet against it.