On the day without the service of captain Cristiano Ronaldo, the Al Nassr club let the home team Al Ettifaq upstream to win the opening match in the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo turned into a hero when he scored twice in the final of the Arab Club Cup to help Al Nassr’s home team win the championship in a lack of people 2 days ago. However, the Portuguese striker suffered an injury and was absent from Al Nassr’s Saudi Pro League

However, rookie Sadio Mane soon opened the scoring for Al Nassr in the fourth minute of the match against Al Ettifaq – the team being led by coach Steven Gerard.

Sadio Mane (rightmost yellow shirt) opened the scoring for Al Nassr in the fourth minute of the match (Image: Al Nassr).

Al Ettifaq strengthens the squad this summer with many stars from Europe, including two names Jordan Henderson and Moussa Dembele being assigned from the start. Before Al Nassr’s strong attack and solid defense, coach Steven Gerard’s army was helpless to find an equalizer in the first half.

However, when the second half only lasted 2 minutes, Al Ettifaq had a 1-1 equalizer thanks to Robin Quaison’s goal. From the situation to make the mistake of goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, the Swedish striker easily cushioned the ball close to the goal to bring the game back to the starting line.

Al Nassr let the home team Al Ettifaq upstream win with a score of 2-1 (Image: Al Nassr).

Only 6 minutes later, Nawaf Al-Aqidi continued to make a mistake with a cross to prevent a cross on the left. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Moussa Dembele cushioned the ball into the empty goal to make it 2-1 for the home team.

Led by the opponent, Al Nassr tried to attack to find an equalizer, but in an unlucky day with two times the ball hit the vertical post and the crossbar, the away team had to leave empty-handed in the opening match of the tournament. Saudi Pro League.

The 2-1 victory over Al Nassr was an unexpected result for Al Ettifaq. Last season, Ronaldo’s team finished second in the Saudi Pro League and 30 points ahead of Al Ettifaq.

Squad:

Al Ettifaq: Paulo Victor, Al-Hawsawi, Tisserand, Hendry, Khateeb, Ali Hazazi, Al-Ghamdi, Henderson, Quaison, Al-Ghamdi, Dembele

Al Nassr: Al-Aqidi, Bushal, Al Fatil, Konan, Mukhtar Ali, Al Khaibari, Al Sulayhem, Al Aliwi, Al Hasan, Ghareeb, Mane