Al-Nassr suffered their second consecutive loss in the league as Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane's side failed to make an impact against Al-Taawoun.
2023/2024 Saudi Professional League
0-2
Match Report
The two stars were unable to help their new side Al-Nassr edge a victory over Al-Taawoun, a team with only seven players valued over £1million.
Al Nassr, who have been among many other Saudi Pro League clubs to spend eye-watering sums on players this year, faced an early setback in the Saudi Pro League season.
They were stunned by a 2-0 home loss to Al Taawoun on Friday. Even with star players Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Anderson Talisca, and Marcelo Brozovic, they struggled to look threatening to their opposition.
The visitors took the lead with a header from Cameroonian forward Leandre Tawamba from a corner kick in the 20th minute.
Al Taawoun's solid defense with five players at the back and a reliable goalkeeper frustrated both Ronaldo and the Al Nassr team throughout the match.
A late goal from substitute Ahmed Bahusayn secured the 2-0 win for Al Taawoun during added time.
This comes after Al-Nassr suffered a 2-1 defeat to Steven Gerrard's side Al-Ettifaq on the opening day of the season.
Starting off the season with a loss to Gerrard's side came after many of their top players being rested after winning the Arab Club Champions Cup just 48 hours earlier.
However, even with all those star players were back on the field, including the £175m-a-year Ronaldo, they still fell short against Al Taawoun.
The opposing team had a perfect strategy – solid defence and quick counter-attacking through their fast Brazilian winger Mateus.
Despite outshooting Al Taawoun 24-8, Al Nassr struggled to create a smooth attacking rhythm. They managed only five shots on target, while Al Taawoun had six on target.
There were moments of near-misses for Al Nassr: Anderson Talisca missed a couple of headers in the penalty area, Sadio Mane had a goal disallowed, there was a crucial clearance off the goal line, Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post with a shot from an offside position, and Marcelo Brozovic shot directly at the goalkeeper. It was a frustrating night for the home team.
In the previous season, Al Nassr finished in second place, falling five points short of winning the Saudi title in 2022/23 to rivals Al-Ittihad.
Having kicked off this season with two consecutive losses, their current situation is concerning, as they could find themselves six points behind the leaders by the end of Matchday 2.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
8' ClOSE! Ronaldo’s shot saved by Goalkeeper!
20' GOAL! Al Nassr FC 0-1 Al Taawoun (Léandre Tawamba)
34' Mateus misses a good chance!
40' Ronaldo’s long range free kick inches wide!
46' CLOSE! Fofana’s shot wide out
47' CHANCE! Ronaldo header over the bar
53' Yellow Card! Talisca booked
67' What a save from Mailson!
80' Brozovic’s long shot inches wide!
89' OFFSIDE! Ronaldo hit the post
96' GOAL! Al Nassr FC 0-2 Al Taawoun (Ahmed Bahusayn)
Line-ups
Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Waleed Abdullah, Brozovic, Mane, S.Fofana, Talisca, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ghislain Konan, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Ali Lajami, Abdulelah Al-Amri
Subs: Mohammed Al-Fatil, Mohammed Qasem, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Ali Al-Hassan, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Nawaf Al-Boushal, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Meshari Al Nemer
Al Taawoun XI: Girotto, Mateus, Léandre Tawamba, Medrán, Aschraf El Mahdioui, Flávio, Mailson, Waleed Al-Ahmed, Hasan Kadesh, Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari, Muath Faquihi
Subs: Abdulmalik Al-Shammari, Awn Al-Saluli, Raghed Najjar, Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, Saad Yaslam, Saad Al-Nasser, Ahmed Bahusayn, Sattam Al Roqi, Fahad Al Abdulrazzaq