Al Taawoun 1-4 Al Nassr: summary, score, goals, highlights | Saudi Pro League
Al Taawoun - Al Nassr: Saudi Pro League, as it happened
Despite going one goal behind to a VAR awarded penalty, Al Nassr had far too much for an Al Taawoun side at the King Abdullah Sports City in Buraydah.
A great team effort from Brozovic was followed up by a header from Laporte to see the side from Riyadh lead at the interval.
Despite a brief rally from the Wolves at the start of the second period, a 50th minute strike from Otavio ended any brief resistance from the men in yellow and in added time, up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo to nod home his 54th goal of the calendar year following a fine assist from Fofana.
The SPL takes a break now as attention turns to the Asian Cup which gets underway in Qatar in two weeks.
Al Hilal see their lead at the summit of the table cut to seven points but the Blues are still the side to beat in the 2023-24 season.
The whistle sounds and al Nassr go seven points behind Al Nassr at the top of the table.
Last minute of the added seven.
Al Nassr cruising as the Portuguese nods home a delightful cross from Fofana who had just come on.
We'll have seven minutes of added time.
Two minutes left as Al Taawoun to their credit refuse to throw in the towel.
Barrow has a pop from distance but it's a tired effort from the South African.
Sadio Mane makes way for Ghareeb
Al Taawoun press again as a dangerous ball is drilled into the danger zone but no-one in a yellow shirt can latch onto the ball.
Mateus Castro is through but fires straight at the al Nassr keeper with the Brazilian being afforded a great chance to pull one back for the Wolves.
Abdulfattah Adam breaks but the flag is up.
Time slipping away from Al Taawoun now.
Yellow card for Abdullah Al-Khaibari as he hauls back a man in a yellow shirt.
Into the final 15 minutes of the action ... Al Taawoun searching for a goal but Al Nassr look formidable at the back.
Great effort from Medran he sees his shot just whistle wide of the Al Nassr goal.
Ronaldo almost bags his 54th goal of the year as the ball crashes off the upright.
Change for Al Taawoun as Abdulfattah Adam replaces Muath Faqeehi
The third Al Nassr goal seems to have sucked all resistance from Al Taawoun with the tempo of the action considerably slower from both sides.
Talisca is on the floor and needs attention.
Al Taawoun really need to find the net to bring the contest back to life but it does seem that a fourth for the Al Alami is a more likely option
Once again, Al Taawoun give the ball away cheaply and Talsica is afforded a shooting chance but the Brazilian drills over.
What a great chance for Ronaldo as the man from Madeira breaks free and opts to go around the keeper and drills over with his less trusty left boot.
A long, long way back now for Al Taawoun after such a bright start from the Wolves.
Al Nassr smell blood and have the psychological advantage in the contest now.
Al Nassr hit their third as Otavia extends the lead for the side in blue.
Poor defending from the home side as the Portuguese slots home.
A positive start from the side in yellow as they look to bounce back and give their fans something to get excited about.
Al Taawoun start the action.
Al Taawoun are back on the pitch as we await the return to the pitch for the side from the capital.
A win against Al Taawoun would see Al Nassr close the gap back to seven points at the top of the table against runaway leaders Al Hilal.
The whistle sounds at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Buraidah and it's the visitors from the capital who are in control with Brozovic and Laporte firing Al Nassr back in front after Al Taawoun captain Aschraf El Mahdioui put the Wolves in front.
Decent effort from Al Taawoun as Alaquidi is called into action and saves well as the side in yellow start to grow in confidence.
Good strike from Joao Pedro who has impressed tonight.
Al Taawoun now enjoying a rare spell of dominance in possession but lack the final ball to crack open the Al Nassr rearguard.
We'll have six minutes of added time to compensate for the swathe of injuries at the opening stage of the half.
Into the last minute of the half and Al Nassr are in total control.
The break affords the Al Taawoun boss a chance to regroup as his side are void of ideas and creative threat.
Awn Al-Saluli now carded for the home side as he clatters into Otavio.
Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari is carded for a lunge on Sadio Mane.
Otavio has a great chance to bag a third for Al Nassr as he nods over after great work from Sadio Mané.
Al Taawoun have really lost their way as we head towards the break. The home side were the dominant force for the first 15 minutes or so but are now being outclassed by the side in navy.
Al Nassr strike the crossbar and Laporte makes it 1-2.
First corner of the night and it falls to Al Nassr who have the bit between their teeth now and a second goal for the Riyadh based side seems to be looming closer.
Spaniard Medran and South African Barrow have impressed for Al Taawoun but the Wolves seem to be rattled by Brozovic's goal.
We pass the half hour mark in Buraydah and that equalising goal has injected a new lease of life into Al Nassr who stroke the ball around with composure and poise.
Brozovic fires al Nassr level.
Great play from the visitors as the Croatian times his run to perfection running onto a sublime ball from Talisca.
Great work from the Nassr strikeforce !
Otavio is injured again after a bad fall as he looked to latch onto a floated ball into the Al Taawoun box.
Al Taawoun sitting that little deeper now as Al Nassr begin to enjoy more sustained possession.
Otavio now needing medical attention as the game is held up once again.
It's been a very disjointed start to the game with the flow of the play interrupted with free-kick after free-kick.
Aschraf El Mahdioui takes and sees his kick saved but the ball rolls back into the path of the Al Taawoun captain who slots home.
Alamri also carded for his protests.
Big chance for Al Taawoun to take the lead.
CR7 carded for his protests.
That, it has to be said is a good call from the official.
Yes, that looks like a spot kick and indeed the match official points to the spot.
The referee has been advised to consult the monitor for a possible spot kick in the last Al Taawoun attack.
Neat play from the home side as they work the ball neatly into the box and Al Nassr finally manage to clear the ball from danger.
First shot of the night from Ronaldo but the tame left footed effort is easy for the Al Taawoun keeper to gather.
Mateus Castro now down injured with these interruptions affecting the flow of the opening 5-6 minutes of the game.
Talisca needs medical treatment and the Brazilian striker limps from the pitch for further attention.
Worrying for Luis Castro's side
It's a fresh evening in Buraydah Saudi Arabia with 17C-62F and the bulk of the supporters are well wrapped up against the elements.
Al Nassr with the better start as Maylson in the Al Taawoun goal is forced to clear as CR7 bears down on goal.
Off we go at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
Al Nassr fans light the customary pre-game flares as smoke wafts across the pitch at the King Abdullah Sports City,
The stadium has filled up in the past 10-15 minutes but large swathes of empty seats do remain.
National anthem time.
The teams are in the tunnel.
Al Nassr all in navy blue led by CR7.
Kick-off just minutes away.
Al Nassr fans in the house
Al Nassr fans make their way through the massive puddles as kick-off looms.
Riyadh is roughly 350 km south of Buraidah.
A sparse crowd at the 25,000 King Abdullah Sports City with the heavy rain falling across much of Saudi Arabia earlier a possible deterrent for local fans.
As always, there is a decent showing from travelling Al Nassr fans.
Taawoun-Nassr: global start times
The CM at the Roshn Saudi League has put together a handy global kick-off time chart ahead of the clash at King Abdullah Sports City.
Al Taawoun-Al Nassr: teams
A reminder of the teams for tonight's clash as kick-off looms.
Ronaldo is guaranteed to finish 2023 as the top goalscorer in world football with his two spot kicks in the game against Al Ittihad on 26 December seeing the Portuguese leap-frog Harry Kane and Mbappe who were both on 52 strikes for the calendar year.
Erling Haaland on 50 goals is still out of action with injury for Man City and didn't figure in the wins over Everton and Sheffield United.
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Péricles Chamusca working wonders with the Wolves
The Brazilian coach has experience in his native Brazil and has also overseen clubs in Qatar and Japan and is currently doing a sterling job in steering Al Taawoun to a fourth place spot in the Roshn Saudi League with the Buraidah side not enjoying the same deep pockets as the big four in the domestic league.
Taawoun-Nassr: last time out
Both sides met in Riyadh at the start of the 2023-24 season with the visitors from Buraidah shocking Al Nassr with a 0-2 win.
All set at Wolves Park
Al Taawoun will don their traditional yellow jerseys today forcing Al Nassr to use their change colors of blue.
Al Taawoun side named
Péricles Chamusca has named his side ahead of the clash against Al Nassr with Spaniard Alvaro Medran startling alongside Brazilian striker Castro.
Al Nassr XI confirmed
Today is the last time Al Nassr will be in domestic league action for over 30 days and as a result all the big guns start for the men from Riyadh with CR7, Mané, Telles, Laporte and Talisca all starting
SPL table
This is how the top of the Saudi Pro League table looks ahead of tonight's clash.
A win essential for Al Nassr to keep in touch with runaway leaders Al Hilal who won again yesterday.
Al Nassr: recent form
December 2023: Al Ittihad 2-5 Al Nassr
December 2023: Al Nassr 3-1 Al Ettifaq
December 2023: Al Shabab 2-5 Al Nassr
December 2023: Al Nassr 4-1 Al Riyadh
December 2023: Istiklol 1-1 Al Nassr
Al Taawoun: recent form
December 2023: Al Taawoun 1-3 Al Fateh
December 2023: Al Ettifaq 0-2 Al Taawoun
December 2023: Al Hilal 3-0 Al Taawoun
December 2023: Al Taawoun 4-1 Al Fayha
December 2023: Al Shabab 1-2 Al Taawoun
The game between Al Taawoun and Al Nassr will kick-off is at 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. PT.
Hello and welcome to our live Roshn Saudi League coverage as high Al Taawoun welcome Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al Nassr side.