Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson started their Saudi careers with an unlikely victory - thanks to a Swede, a Frenchman and a dodgy goalkeeper.
Match Report
Second-half goals from Robin Quaison and former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele, who both capitalised on fumbles from a hapless Nawaf Alaqidi, were enough to secure three points for Al-Ettifaq and wipe out old friend Sadio Mane’s fourth-minute tap-in, which had given visitors Al-Nassr the lead.
Dammam-based Al-Ettifaq are not one of the big four clubs given massive Saudi Public Investment Fund backing. And while there is, clearly, money to spend, their outlay has been nowhere near that of Monday night’s opponents.
But Al-Nassr, who were without an injured Cristiano Ronaldo, had played in a gruelling Arab Club Champions Cup Final on Saturday night which went to extra-time.
And, following a Gerrard team talk, the hosts bounced back from their early shock, thanks in no small part to Alaqidi who twice dropped crosses with fatal consequences.
Henderson was influential on a humid, scorching night with temperatures at kick-off of 36 Celsius.
He departed on 87 minutes to a standing ovation. Mane had a late strike ruled out for offside but Gerrard’s men held on – despite 14 minutes of additional time.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
4' GOAL! Al Ettifaq 0-1 Al Nassr FC (Mane)
8' Mane's long shot wide out
47' GOAL! Al Ettifaq 1-1 Al Nassr FC (Quaison)
53' GOAL! Al Ettifaq 2-1 Al Nassr FC (M Dembele)
76' Yahya's header hits the bar
89' OFFSIDE! Mane’s goal disallowed
Line-ups
Al Ettifaq XI: Henderson, Paulo Victor, Tisserand, Quaison, M Dembele, Ali Abdullah Hazazi, Jack Hendry, Abdullah Khateeb, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Sanousi Al-Hawsawi
Subs: Abdullah Al-Oaisher, Vitinho, Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi, Berat Özdemir, Hamed Al-Ghamdi, Mohammed Al-Dawsari, Meshal Alaeli, Mohammed Mahzari, Mohammed Yousef
Al Nassr FC XI: Mohammed Al-Fatil, Mane, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem, Mukhtar Ali, Ghislain Konan, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Ali Al-Hassan, Nawaf Al-Boushal, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa
Subs: Waleed Abdullah, Mohammed Qasem, Amin Al-Bukhari, Sami Al-Najei, Abdulfattah Adam, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Ayman Yahya, Muhammed Sahlouli
eggosa91
1236
ERICK TEN HANG REALLY MADE US BELIVE RONALDO IS FINISH 😩
zerbigboy
1074
DID YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE? OR YOU NEED EXPLANATION
JoyNg01
722
No GOAT 🐐 No party🥹🙌
eggosa91
657
He his 38 years old still carrying his team on his shoulders... Insane 😳
JoyNg
617
Quick recovery GOAT🙏🐐❤️
eggosa91
537
They will be a player like him again... I Mean never 😞 ... Goated 🐐
TheRealMadridFan
442
When the King is absent, the kingdom suffers
bulemooe
377
If you want to check out the gif, just click here: http://www.goalgif.xyz/v2/live/matchGifs?match_id=53650493&language=en
Teebless
348
Without goat no winning Missing my goat 🐐 in the pitch today No real goat with go against this 🙏
maturidikxith
179
no ronaldo no party🐐
JoyNg01
177
Missing the savior tonight🥹🐐💛💛
limengoeng
141
This is not the World Cup. This is just a rich man's cup from Saudi Arabia.
sewadlmp
14
ERICK TEN HANG REALLY MADE US BELIVE RONALDO IS FINISH 😩
[image]
Not only United. Portugal also exposed him. 1 penalty, 1 assist to opponent, 1 stealing of teammates goal in the just ended world cup tournament 🤣
wizbcilsuz
13
ERICK TEN HANG REALLY MADE US BELIVE RONALDO IS FINISH 😩
[image]
Yes he’s finished. Friendly tournament trophy😂😂