A 97th-minute penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr secure a thrilling 2-1 win over Al-Shabab in the Saudi Pro League on Friday. 

After a sluggish first half which witnessed both teams creating very few chances, the match came to life when Al-Nassr defender Aymeric Laporte scored the first goal in the 69th minute.

Al-Shabab, however, bounced back in the match dramatically after Ali Al-Hassan scored an own goal in the 90th minute.

The match seemed inching towards a draw when things once again changed drastically in the injury time of the second half. Robert Renan’s foul on Abdulrahman Ghareeb inside the box earned Al-Nassr a penalty and Ronaldo was quick to convert it into a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time. It was Ronaldo’s sixth goal of the ongoing Saudi Pro League season.

That wasn’t the end of the whole drama as Al-Nassr’s Mohamed Simakan was shown a red card by the referee in the 12th minute of the stoppage time for his foul against Nader Al-Sharari inside the box.

Al-Shabab had a glorious chance to level the score late in the match from the spot but Abderrazak Hamdallah couldn’t handle the pressure as he hit the woodwork and Al-Nassr clinched a thrilling win.

The victory means Al-Nassr are back to the second spot in the Saudi Pro League with 17 points from seven matches. They are four points behind league leaders Al-Hilal who have 21 points from seven matches.

Al-Ittihad are third with 15 points from six matches and can climb back to the second sport with a win over Al Qadsiah on Saturday.

Source: firstpost.com

BDST: 1332 HRS, OCT 19, 2024
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