The Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nasr have been soundly defeated.
Al Nasr lost 0-3 to Al Hilal in the 15th round of the 2023-24 Saudi Professional League (SPL) at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 3:00 a.m. ET today. The result widened the gap between second-place Al Nasr (34 points, 11 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses, 39 goals, 18 assists, +21) and first-place Al Hilal (41 points, 13 wins, 2 draws, 46 goals, 8 assists, +38) to seven points.
Two superstar-studded teams backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) met. Al Hilal, coached by Jorge Jesus, featured Aleksandar Mitrovic (formerly of Fulham), Ruben Neves (formerly of Wolverhampton), Sergei Milinkovic-Savic (formerly of Lazio), Kalidou Koulibaly (formerly of Chelsea), and Yacine Bunu (formerly of Sevilla). Al Nasr, coached by Luiz Castro, started Ronaldo (ex-Manchester United), Sadio Mane (ex-Munich), Marcelo Brozovic (ex-Inter Milan), Alex Telles (ex-Manchester United), and Aymeric Laporte (ex-Man City).
After a goalless first half, the game went into the second half. It was Al Hilal who broke the deadlock. In the 19th minute, Nawaf Alaqidi blocked a Salem Al-Dawsari shot, but the ball was played out to Al-Hilal. A side throw-in was followed by a cross into the box. Milinkovic-Savic, who was looking for a chance on the doorstep, split the goal with a deflected header.
Al Nasr and Al Hilal both made substitutions. The gap widened further in stoppage time. Al Hilal won a corner in the 44th minute. Al-Dawsari’s cross was headed to the near post, where Mitrovic, who had cut into the center of the box, headed in a second goal. Ronaldo claimed to have been pushed down by an opponent during the goal, but it was disallowed. 보스토토 도메인
The victorious Al Hilal threw cold water on a reddened Al Nasr. With nine minutes of extra time on the clock, Al Hilal went on the offensive. A Koulibaly long ball was headed into the box. Mitrovic collected the ball from Milinkovic-Savic and calmly turned it away. After releasing the opposition pressure, his shot went between Bunu’s legs.
In the end, Al Nasr hung their heads in shame at the hands of Al Hilal. Ronaldo played full time and tried his best but couldn’t prevent the defeat. Not only did Al Nasr fail to extend their lead at the top of the table, but they are also being chased by Al Ahli (3rd, 30 points) and Al Ittihad (4th, 28 points).
