Al Nassr 5-1 Al-Tai: Another hat-trick for Ronaldo sets up his side's triumph

Al Nassr defeated a 10-men Al Tai 5-1 at home in the Saudi Pro League. The visitor lost Virjil Misidjan to a second yellow card in the first half and it never looked like an even contest since then.

Match Report

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 64th career hattrick, all three coming in the second half.

Al Nassr started the scoring as the first goal came in the 20th minute courtesy of a long ball in by Otavio, which was missed by Brozovic. However, the ball bounced into the net without any contact featuring the Portuguese midfielder on the scoresheet.

Just seconds later in the 22nd minute, Tai equalized thanks to an amazing finish by Tai’s number 10, Misidjan.

In the 36th minute, Misidjan was sent off after he was given a second yellow card for a contact with Nassr’s keeper Ospina while Tai was on an attack.

Nassr capitalised on this advantage and right before the half-time whistle, Ghareeb scored and took the lead off a cross from Sadio Mane in the seventh minute of additional time.

Ronaldo then scored in the 64th minute after Mane played a low-driven cross from the right wing that was met by a first-time finish by the captain. Moments later in the 67th minute, Ronaldo scored an easy-tap in after it rebounded from the cross-bar.

Finally in the dying embers of the game, three minutes before the end of regulation time, Ronaldo headed the ball into the net completing his 64th career hattrick.

Nassr is currently second in the table, nine points behind leader Al Hilal and faces Abha next in the Saudi Pro League.

Line-ups

Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Ospina, Alex Telles, Brozovic, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Mane, Otávio, Sami Al-Najei, Ali Lajami, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Ayman Yahya

Subs: Mohammed Qasem, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim, Raghed Al-Najjar, Ali Al-Hassan, Nawaf Al-Boushal, Mohammed Maran, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa, Meshari Al Nemer, Awad Aman

Al-Tai XI: Enzo Roco, Salman Al-Muwashar, Virgil Misidjan, Abdulaziz Majrashi, Bauer, Bernard Mensah, Jamal Bajandooh, Alfa Semedo, Ibrahim Al-Nakhli, Moataz Al-Baqaawi, Andrei Cordea

Subs: Victor Braga, Marko Dugandzic, Abdulfattah Asiri, Abdulmohsin Fallatah, Abdulaziz Al-Harabi, Salem Abdullah Al-Toiawy, Abdulrahman Al-Harthi, Adeeb Al-Haizan, Nawaf Al-Qamiri