AL NASSR
Groundhog Day for Cristiano as Al Nassr come up short against nemesis Al Hilal
The Portuguese striker avoided a straight red towards the end of the first half and has yet to win win against his Riyadh rivals, Al Hilal.
A goal, 12 minutes from time from striker Milinkovic Savic denied Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr a rare win over their Riyadh rivals and reigning Saudi champions Al Hilal. Things looked good for Nassr as Brazilian Anderson Talisca put the home side ahead in the first minute of an eagerly anticipated Riyadh derby.
Al Hilal, who are expected to welcome back Brazilian forward Neymar in early 2025 (the Brazilian is only registered to play in ACL matches at present), with the striker now fully recovered from his ACL tear are now on another amazing unbeaten streak since falling to Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Champions League play-offs last April but came close to tasting defeat in Friday’s game.
Al Hilal struggled to for swathes of the match and faced an uphill battle after the early Talisca goal as he latched onto a ball from Portugal’s Otavio to the delight of the home fans.
Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to find the net and indeed was lucky to be on the pitch following a lunge on an opponent late in the first half and was relieved when the match official only awarded the veteran striker a yellow card.
As the visitors pushed, the equaliser finally came in the 78th minute when Milinkovic Savic headed home Renan Lodi’s left-wing pass and after nine matchdays, this is the first time this season that Jorge Jesus’ side drop points but still top the Saudi Pro League table by one point ahead of Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad and six ahead of Al Nassr.
Al Hilal, CR7′s bogey side
Since arriving in Saudi Arabia in 2023, Cristiano has yet to taste victory against Riyadh rivals Al Hilal with the past five meetings ahead of tonight’s derby seeing Al Nassr manage just one draw and four defeats.
The Faris Njad, were also eliminated from the 24-25 Saudi Kings Cup last week with Cristiano missing a last minute penalty kick in the defeat at home to Al Taawoun.