Inter Milan will rue their missed chances in the second-half as they were held to a draw by Saudi Pro League side during their pre-season friendly in Japan.
2023 Club Friendlies
1-1
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
7' Ronaldo's shot stopped by goalkeeper
8' Fofana's long shot over the bar
17' Talisca's header stopped
22' Ronaldo's long shot wide out
23' GOAL! Al Nassr FC 1-0 Inter (Abdulrahman Ghareeb)
27' Lautaro's shot inches wide
44' GOAL! Al Nassr FC 1-1 Inter (Frattesi)
50' Lautaro's shot stopped
59' Lautaro's header over the bar
66' Unbelievable! What a miss from Lautaro
Match Report
Lautaro Martinez - in the captain's armband - was unable to force a decider from the edge of the six yard box after Simone Inzaghi's side had pulled an equaliser out of the bag just before half-time.
Al-Nassr had served their Serie A opponents a shock in the opening 30 minutes as Abdulrahman Ghareeb combined slickly with his team-mate Talisca, but Davide Frattesi levelled things between the sides just twenty minutes later.
Scoring his first goal for the Nerazzurri, Frattesi was one of a number of youngester for the Milanese side who looked potent in attack, including academy graduate Sebastiano Esposito and new signing Kristjan Asllani, both of whom were introduced in the second half.
Marcelo Brozovic, facing his former team for the first time since his big-money move to Al-Nassr earlier in the transfer window, also distinguished himself in new colours, and without his pairing with Seko Fofana in midfield to draw upon in the second-half, the Saudi side looked noticeably less threatening.
Former Manchester United team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo and Alex Telles were two other boldfaced names swapped by head coach Luis Castro at half-time, likely in preparation for Al-Nassr's upcoming Arab Club Champions Cup campaign.
Ronaldo was a vibrant presence in the side's attack, if unable to assert himself on the game fully - although a 25-yard rocket that glanced just wide of the near post did go some way to recalling former glories.
Al-Nassr were hunting for first blood from the opening moments, and deserved to go ahead after Talisca's first effort to outsmart Filip Stankovic with a bulleted header was saved under pressure.
Despite Inter's creeping dominance in the second-half, the side also came closest in the final 45, when the Italian side were punished for their inconsistency.
10 minutes before time Al-Hassan thrashed a cross to the far post, rather than chipping substitute keeper Raffaele Di Gennaro at close range, but the player's unselfish instincts kept Al-Nassr from waltzing away with the tie.
Line-ups
Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Alex Telles, Brozovic, S.Fofana, Talisca, Abdullah Madu, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ali Lajami, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Nawaf Al-Aqidi
Subs: Waleed Abdullah, Mohammed Al-Fatil, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem, Mukhtar Ali, Amin Al-Bukhari, Ghislain Konan, Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdulfattah Adam, Ali Al-Hassan, Nawaf Al-Boushal, Ayman Yahya, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa, Muhammed Sahlouli
Inter XI: De Vrij, Calhanoglu, Correa, Barella, Gosens, Dumfries, Lautaro, Bastoni, Frattesi, Yann Aurel Bisseck, Filip Stankovic
Subs: Darmian, Cuadrado, Acerbi, Raffaele Di Gennaro, Lazaro, Dimarco, Sensi, Thuram, Esposito, Giovanni Fabbian, Kristjan Asllani, Alessandro Calligaris, Aleksandar Stankovic, Giacomo Stabile
