Al Nassr lost points when Ronaldo broke his scoring streak

Nassr led 2-0 after 28 minutes, but was held to a 2-2 draw by Abha – the team ranked 15th in the Saudi Pro League – in round 9 of the Saudi Pro League.

Al Nassr started the match better than Abha. Right in the 3rd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo struck with his heel to launch an attack that led to the opening goal. After his pass, Marcelo Brozovic crossed to Otavio, allowing the Portuguese midfielder to turn around a defender and shoot into the left corner of the goal.

Al Nassr continued to play enthusiastically after the early goal. The home team sometimes controlled the ball up to 80%. In the 28th minute, Ronaldo once again launched an attack that led to a goal. After a pass from the Portuguese superstar, Sadio Mane crossed into the penalty area for Talisca to “thread the needle” goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.

After two early goals, Al Nassr somewhat slackened. Thanks to that, Abba had many opportunities to counterattack. In the 36th minute, the away team pulled one goal back after Otavio fouled Sami Al Sudani. Saad Bguir successfully scored a penalty to shorten the score to 1-2.

Al Nassr’s defense continues to be unstable. Meanwhile, Ronaldo lacked the grace to score in front of Abha’s goal. Minute 45+4, the Portuguese striker headed the bar, before being flagged for offside. In the 66th minute, he put the ball into Abha’s net, but once again fell into an offside position.

Two shots from empty positions at the end of the match could not bring Ronaldo a goal. The first shot was pushed away by Tatarusanu, and the second shot went wide.

Stunned against Abha, Ronaldo lost his scoring streak after the last six matches in the Saudi Pro League 2023-2024. However, he still leads the top scorer race with 10 goals, three more than second-place Moussa Dembele.

Talisca also missed many opportunities that could have increased the gap for Al Nassr. The Brazilian striker headed wide of the goal twice, then missed a pass in a three-on-three situation.

After repeatedly wasting the opportunity to win all three points, Al Nassr had to pay the price in the 90+2 minute. After winning the ball in the middle of the field, Karl Toko Ekambi broke through, then shot from 25 meters, leveling the score at 2-2. The equalizer from the former Lyon club striker left Al Nassr unable to react in time. The referee blew the whistle to end the match a few minutes later and the home team had to accept the draw.

Al Nassr is currently ranked third in the Saudi Pro League with 19 points after nine matches, three points behind leading team Al Taawoun. If they win against Al Akhdoud in the evening match on October 7, Neymar’s Al Hilal can take the lead with 23 points. Meanwhile, Abha jumped from 16th to 15th place, with seven points after nine matches. Saudi Pro League consists of 18 teams and plays a double round robin.