Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo secured another important win in the Saudi Pro League title race as they comfortably dispatched Al-Najma 5-0, with CR7, Sadio Mane and Kingsley Coman among the goalscorers.
The Riyadh-based side recently went to the top of the league table by beating Al-Hazem and retained that position thanks to their victory on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo scores as Al-Nassr secure easy win
Al-Nassr’s title hopes have been given a shot in the arm by Al-Hilal’s recent run of two draws on the trot. Ronaldo and co knew victory over Al-Najma on Wednesday night would send them to the top of the table again and they got the best possible start when they were handed a penalty early on upon video assistant referee review.
It was, of course, Ronaldo who stepped to dispatch it from the spot, netting his 965th goal on his quest to hit four digits.
Al-Najma were quickly overawed by the individual quality of their opponents and the game was soon taken away from them as Al-Nassr scored another two goals before half-time. Coman swivelled and fired in to make it 2-0 before Inigo Martinez struck from distance, with the veteran Spanish defender’s effort deflecting fortuitously past goalkeeper Waled Al-Enazi.
Things got worse for the hosts early in the second half as the visitors swept forward and bagged a fourth, with Ronaldo picking up an assist by laying it to Mane who expertly found the top corner with a powerful shot.
Rather than any of the attacking stars, it was Martinez who grabbed a brace when he flicked a header in from a corner, helping Al-Nassr wrap up their ninth league win in a row and go two points clear at the top.
The MVP
Ronaldo may have paused his goalscoring journey when he sat out a handful of games after the January transfer window, but his recent streak shows he hasn’t suffered from that previous absence.
He got on the scoresheet early on during Wednesday’s win, finding the net with a confident penalty, and showed excellent awareness to set up Mane later on.
The Portugal international may have been a little peeved at manager Jorge Jesus’ decision to substitute him with less than a hour played, given he could have struck a couple more times against the poor opposition, but ultimately he will be fresher for it as Al-Nassr look to gift him his first Saudi Pro League title since his arrival in 2023.
That’s got to be a win.
The big loser
With Al-Nassr taking advantage of their slip-ups, the big losers have to be Al-Hilal.
When Karim Benzema arrived in January and immediately started scoring goals, it looked like it was their title to lose. However, the recent drop in form has been seized upon by Al-Nassr, who now hold pole position in the race to claim the silverware.
That said, there are still 11 matches left for both sides, while Ivan Toney’s Al-Ahli are second and can’t be discounted from the running.
Match rating (out of five): ⭐⭐
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