Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr highlights, ETT 0-3 NAS, Saudi Pro League 2024-25: Ronaldo, Talisca, Al Najdi strikes guide Nassr to comfortable win

Steven Pioli wins his first game as Al Nassr manager in style as his team cruises to a 3-0 win against Al Ettifaq. Ronaldo, Al-Najdi and Talisca among the scoresheet. 

Four minutes added at the end of the second-half!

Off the crossbar - Mane sets up Ronaldo for the shot and the latter obliges, dispatching a venomous shot from the edge of the box. The ball flew towards goal but rattled the crossbar and came back into play. 

Al Nassr booking: Mukhtar Ali sees a yellow card late in the match. 

Al Ettifaq booking: Moussa Dembele also sees a yellow late in the game. 

Dembele gets a excellent chance to pull one back after being played a good through ball. The Al Nassr defence seems exposed for the first time in the match as Dembele gets the ball inside the box. He goes for the shot but Bento, who had come off his line to narrow the angle, makes himself big and makes a good save to preserve his clean sheet. 

Al Nassr subs: IN- Fatil, Maran, Ali OUT - Simakan, Talisca, Otavio 

Shots on target

Al Ettifaq - 1 Al Nassr - 8

That says it all about today’s contest. 

The match halts for its final cooling break and Al Nassr is almost over the line. Steven Gerrard goes for disaster management by bringing on a couple of defenders. 

Al Ettifaq subs: IN- Hindi, Abdulrahman OUT- Toko Ekambi, Alolayan 

Mane finds Talisca with a cutback from the left. Ronaldo tries to get at the end of it but misses the ball. But Talisca makes no mistake and rattles the net with a first-time finish. 

That is also Mane’s second assist of the match after setting up Al-Najdi for Al Nassr’s second. 

Otavio makes an excellent through ball to Ghareeb, who carries the ball inside the box and squares it to Ronaldo. The Portuguese start tries to score a second but his effort takes a deflection and goes out of play. Eventually, the assistant raises his flag for offside. 

Mane gets in a good shooting position but decides to go for the unselfish route by trying to find Ronaldo with a backheel. However, the cannot pull it off and loses the ball in the process. 

Ronaldo makes a penetrative run and takes the ball inside the Ettifaq box. He loses his footing and goes down before he can get his shot away and immediately asks for a penalty. But the referee waves play to continue. 

Al Ettifaq subs: IN- Medran, Costa OUT- Radif, Dos Santos

Al Nassr subs: IN- Ghareeb, Boushal OUT- Angelo, Al-Najdi 

Al Najdi makes an excellent run inside the box as he is played a wonderful through ball by Mane. Rodak rushes out to narrow the angle but Al Najdi expertly dinks the ball above Rodak to fight the net from a tight angle -- an excellent way to grab your first goal for your club. 

The tempo of the match has slightly gone down. As expected, Al Nassr is trying to dictate it by trying to slow down the proceedings. Steven Gerrard’s men need to show more urgency. 

Vitinho goes down inside the box and strongly appeals for a penalty but the referee thinks otherwise. Ettifaq has started well in the second-half with some penetrations inside the Al Nassr final third but has not created anything substantial. 

Al Ettifaq booking - Meanwhile, Fofana becomes the first player to see a yellow card in this match. 

Al Nassr leads Al Ettifaq by a 1-0 scoreline as the second-half kick-off at the Ettifaq Club Stadium in Dammam. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty keeps Al Nassr in a 1-0 lead against Al Ettifaq at half-time.

The ball was loose inside the Al Nassr box for a moment and Radif looked to capitalise but Laporte showed good strength to hold him off as Bento comes off his line and collects the ball. 

Four minutes added at the end of the first-half!

Radif makes a good run down the right and sends a grounded cross inside the box. Dembele tries to guide the ball towards gaol with a first-time shot but cannot keep the ball on target. 

Talisca shoots hard and low from the edge of the box but it is straight at Rodak, who collects the ball without fuss. 

Ronaldo finds Angelo with an excellent through ball. Angelo, one-on-one with Rodak, fails to keep his composure and fails to get the ball past the Ettifaq keeper. 

Toko Ekambi tries to look for a quick equaliser as he cuts in from the left and aims for the top-right corner with a curling effort. His shot has power but lacks the bend as the ball goes out for a goalkick. 

It is a composed finish from the spot from Ronaldo as he calmly slots the ball at the back of the net with a shot down the middle. That is goal number 902nd for Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Penalty to Al Nassr - Madu brings down Al-Ghanam with a clumsy challenge inside the box and the referee immediately points to the spot for a penalty. 

Talisca gets another chance to score the opener. This time, his shot from inside the box, has power but it is straight at Rodak, who makes the save. 

Chance - Ronaldo has time and space as he makes his way inside the Ettifaq box from the left. He finds Talisca in the middle with the cutback, with the latter going for a first-time shot. However, he fails to keep his effort on target. 

Al Ettifaq sub: IN- Al-Sebyani OUT- Al-Khateeb 

It is an unfortunate end for Al-Khateeb as the injury looks to be serious. 

Ettifaq’s Radif crosses the ball from the right, which goes past everyone in the box. Toko Ekambi manages to keep the ball in play and passes behind to Alolayan. Alolayan shoots at goal from distance but his effort sails above the Al Nassr goal. 

Mane and Rodak race to the loose ball and in the end, the latter punches the ball to safety. Mane goes down inside the penalty box and there is a brief shout for a penalty but the referee waves play to continue. 

With the first quarter of the match over, neither team has been able to carve any major chances. Ronaldo’s effort from that early freekick has been the most any keeper has had to work till now. 

Talisca spreads the ball to Ronaldo on his left. The latter makes his way inside the box and tries to escape his marker with a couple of shimmies. In the end, he goes for a shot with his left, aiming for the far-corner but the effort is intercepted. 

Mane takes the ball inside the box, cuts in and tries to curl the ball into the top-right corner. However, he fails to keep his effort on target and it is a goalkick for Ettifaq. 

Al Nassr’s Al-Najdi makes a talismanic run down the left flank before he is fouled. He wants a card for the offender but the referee ignored his claim.

Al Nassr gets a freekick early in the match but it is quite a distance from the Ettifaq goal. Ronaldo goes for goal, shooting hard and low, which forces a save from Rodak. 

The Saudi Pro League 2024-25 match between Al Ettifaq and Al Nassr is underway at the Ettifaq Club Stadium in Dammam. 

Played: 38 

Al Ettifaq wins: 10

Draws:- 10

Al Nassr wins: 18

Al Ettifaq will play Al Nassr in a Saudi Pro League 2024-25 match on Friday at the Al-Ettifaq Club Stadium in Damman, Saudi Arabia.

Currently, Al Ettifaq, with three wins out of three, is third in the Saudi Pro League standings, whereas Al Nassr, with one win and two draws, is in seventh place. 

Al Ettifaq defeated Al Fateh by 2-1 in their last match. On the other hand, Al Nassr played a 1-1 draw against Al-Ahli in its last Saudi Pro League and again played out a 1-1 draw in its previous match against Al Shorta in their AFC Champions League match.

When and where will the Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match kick-off?

The Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match will kick-off at 11:30 PM IST on Friday, September 20 at the Al-Ettifaq Club Stadium in Damman, Saudi Arabia. 

Where to watch the Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match?

The Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match will be live telecast on the Sony Sports Network. The match will also be live streamed on the Sony Liv app and website.