Cristiano Ronaldo bagged an 81st-minute winner as Al Nassr beat Al Fayha 1-0 to win the first leg of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Thursday.
Even though Al Nassr dominated proceedings right from the starting whistle, its star-studded lineup of Ronaldo, Talisca, and Otavio failed to penetrate the Fayha defence, which maintained excellent communication and shut out anything that Al Nassr tried to do in the final third.
The first proper chance of the match came in the dying minutes of the first-half when a cross from the left flank fell to Ronaldo, who shot at goal on the turn, but Vladimir Stojkovic met the effort with an excellent save.
The second-half had the same narrative as Al Nassr continued to make inroads, but Al Fayha’s resolute defending kept Ronaldo and Co at bay.
AS IT HAPPENED: Al Fayha vs Al Nassr highlights
Ronaldo had his second chance in the 64th minute. Marcelo Brozovic did well to find Ronaldo with a lob at the far-post, but the latter’s header went straight at Stojkovic, who showed solid hands to hold on to the ball.
As the night progressed, it looked like Vuk Rasovic’s men would hold heavy favourites with a goalless draw with their excellent defending, but Ronaldo had other plans.
In the 81st minute, Brozovic and Ronaldo combined with an excellent give-and-go as the Croat flicked the ball towards his captain, who had timed his run to perfection inside the box. With Stojkovic rushing out to narrow down the angle, Ronaldo kept his composure to shoot on the volley and rattle the net, scoring his debut goal against Al Fayha.
After conceding late, there was a late surge by Al Fayha players for an equaliser, and Fashion Sakala even came close in second-half additional time, but Luis Castro’s men held on for the win.
Both teams will play the second leg on February 21, where Al Nassr will carry a 1-0 aggregate lead.
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