Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half double helped Al-Nassr to a 3-1 Saudi Pro League win at Al-Khaleej, though leaders Al-Hilal's fifth straight victory means they are still 11 points off the summit.
2024/2025 Saudi Professional League
1-3
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
13' Match Event for Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
16' Highlight from Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
24' Highlight from Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
34' Red Card! Saeed Al-Hamsl sent off
47' Match Event for Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
58' Match Event for Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
65' GOAL! Al Khaleej Club 0-1 Al Nassr FC (Cristiano Ronaldo)
72' Highlight from Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
80' Penalty Goal! Al Khaleej Club 1-1 Al Nassr FC (Konstantinos Fortounis)
81' GOAL! Al Khaleej Club 1-2 Al Nassr FC (Sultan Al-Ghannam)
97' Match Event for Al Khaleej Club vs Al Nassr FC
98' GOAL! Al Khaleej Club 1-3 Al Nassr FC (Cristiano Ronaldo)
Match Report
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr entered Tuesday's game having only won one of their last four in league action, and their hopes were boosted when their hosts saw Saeed Al Hamsal sent off for a handball to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 34th minute.
Ronaldo was seen in animated discussion with Marcelo Brozovic after the half-time whistle, with Al-Nassr struggling to break down their stubborn opponents.
Ronaldo finally broke the deadlock with a well-taken volley in the 65th minute, but Kostas Fortounis swiftly equalised from the penalty spot following a handball from Ali Lajami.
However, Al-Nassr restored their advantage just one minute after being pegged back as Sultan Al-Ghannam rifled home, then Ronaldo added a tap-in deep into stoppage time to make the points safe.
That victory did not do much for Al-Nassr's flagging title hopes, though, as Al-Hilal racked up another dominant win, beating Al-Wehda 4-1 at Kingdom Arena.
Jorge Jesus' team – who thrashed Al Fateh 9-0 last time out – cruised to their fifth straight victory in the competition, with Marcos Leonardo and Malcolm scoring inside the first 11 minutes.
Malcolm added a second in the 82nd minute before Craig Goodwin denied Al-Hilal a clean sheet, but Abdullah Al Hamddan added some gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time.
Leaders Al-Hilal are three points clear of Al-Ittihad, who host Al-Shabab in their game in hand on Wednesday, and 11 ahead of third-placed Al-Nassr.
Line-ups
Al Khaleej Club XI: Ibrahim Sehic, Fortounis, Tisserand, Rebocho, Fábio Martins, Abdullah Al-Salem, Mansour Hamzi, Saeed Al-Hamsl, Mohammed Al-Khabrani, Saleh Aboulshamat, Murad Al-Hawsawi
Subs: Abdullah Al-Fahad, Mohamed Sherif, Khaled Al-Sumairi, Bandar Nasser, Arif Al-Haydar, Raed Ozaybi, Mohammed Al-Abdullah, Ali Al-Shaafi, Hussain Al-Sultan
Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Brozovic, Mane, Otávio, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ali Lajami, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohamed Simakan, Bento, Nawaf Al-Boushal, Ângelo
Subs: Mohammed Al-Fatil, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Raghed Al-Najjar, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohammed Marran, Salem Al Najdi, Awad Aman, Saad Haqawi