Al Shabab vs Al Nassr highlights, SHB 2-3 NAS, Saudi Pro League: Talisca brace, Ronaldo strike guide Nassr to win and keep title race alive

A Talisca brace and goal from Cristiano Ronaldo guides Al Nassr to a 3-2 win against Al Shabab. Al Nassr’s title race is well and truly on. 

RED CARD- Al-Shabab goes for a final push for an equaliser. Radif goes down inside the box, trying to get to the ball and sees a second yellow for simulation and he has to leave the pitch. A chaotic end to the match. 

Al Nassr sub: IN- Alhassan OUT- Brozovic

Bookings: Al Shabab’s Radif and Al Nassr’s Boushal have both been booked for getting involved in an altercation.

Al-Yami fizzes a cross inside the box from the right-flank. Any sort of contact on target could have proved troublesome for Abdullah but no Al-Shabab player got a touch of the ball. 

Rakitic swings in a dangerous cross inside the box from an Al-Shabab corner but Abdullah does well to send the ball away with a confident punch. 

11 minutes added on at the end of the second-half! Enough time for a late twist in the tale. 

SHB booking: Al-Sharari is the latest player to get a yellow card. 

Talisca is played an excellent through ball, as he times his run to perfection. He makes his way inside the box and under pressure, maintains his calm to poke the ball inside the net. Al-Absi did come off his line to try and make it difficult for Talisca, but was surprised by the Brazilian’s early shot. 

SHB sub: IN- Alqahtani OUT- Carrasco 

Al Nassr sub: IN- Yahya OUT- Mane

Ronaldo gets something on the ball from Telles’ cross from the left but it is not enough to trouble Al-Absi, who collects the ball without much fuss. 

SHB subs: IN- Aljuwayr, Radif OUT- Carlos Junior, Diallo 

Al Nassr subs: IN- Boushal, Al-Najei OUT- Lajami, Otavio

Al-Harbi makes a run down the left again and finds Carrasco with the cutback. The weight of the pass, however, is too much and the Belgian cannot take the ball in his stride. 

Al Shabab has kept knocking on the door and finally scored the equaliser. Al Nassr cannot clear its lines from a corner. The ball is squared across the face of the goal from the right flank and Carlos Junior is in the right place at the right time to tap the ball inside the net. 

Al-Harbi darts along the left flank and does well to find Carrasco with the cutback. Carrasco pulls the trigger but Laporte makes an excellent block. 

Carrasco cuts in and goes for a curler from the left side of the box. His shot has power but the ball does nit curl enough to go inside the net. 

Otavio spots Brozovic in space and passes the ball to him. Brozovic has all the time and acres of space ahead of him as the Croatian makes a run at goal. He tries to bend the ball inside the net with an early shot but does not have the technique to do so. Brozovic had more time than he realized. 

Talisca does his defensive duties as he intercepts Rakitic’s cross to send the ball out for a corner. Chants of “Talisca Talisca” reverberate around the stadium. 

Talisca almost gets at the end of a great pass from the Al Nassr half but Al Absi reads the danger and comes out to collect the ball before the Brazilian could get to it. 

SHB booking: Roman Saiss gets a yellow card for a silly challenge and the Shabab captain has to be careful now. 

Abdullah spills the ball as he tries to collect the ball as a shot comes from distance. Carlos Junior collects the loose ball and has an open net in front of him but he looses his footing and completely botches his chance. The flag is finally raised for offside, which partially saves the blushes for the Brazilian. 

Shabab almost gets an immediate equaliser. Carrasco finds Diallo with a peach of a pass. Diallo goes for the cutback, finding Carrasco. Carrasco goes for a low shot but it is straight at Abdullah, who does well to make the save. 

Talisca has taken 61 seconds in the second-half to make his impact. Otavio passes the ball to him and Talisca shoots on the turn. It is fairly straight at the keeper and Al Absi gets a touch but cannot keep the ball out of the net. 

Al Shabab and Al Nassr level at 1-1 in the derby as the second-half starts at the Al Shabab FC Stadium in Riyadh. 

Successful penalties from Yannick Carrasco and Cristiano Ronaldo keep Al Shabab and Al Nassr level at 1-1 as the match breaks for half-time. 

It is an excellent penalty by Carrasco, who sends Abdullah the wrong way with his spot-kick. He struck it hard and low. 

VAR has a look and upheld the referee’s decision. Al Shabab will have a penalty and has a chance of coming back in the match. 

Laporte has tripped Carlos Junior inside the box and the referee points to the spot for an Al-Shabab penalty.

Al Nassr players are protesting, led by Laporte. Apparently, he is saying that he did not touch him and that the contact came from behind. VAR is having a look right now. 

Carlos Junior had a clash of heads with Ronaldo as both went for the ball and the Al Shabab player has come off worse in that. He is currently getting medical attention but should be able to continue. 

Six minutes given at the end of the first-half!

Al-Yami whips in a dangerous cross inside the box from the right but Abdullah reads the danger and comes out to collect the ball. 

Junior threads the ball to Carrasco, who makes a run inside the Nassr box. The Belgian cuts in and tries to get a shot at goal but is quickly crowded out before he can. His second touch was a tad but heavy. 

Talisca swings a cross inside the box, hoping to find Mane at the far-post but Al-Sharari reads the danger and intercepts the cross and clears the ball out for a corner.

Mane and Al-Sharari race for the ball, which is won by the Al Shabab man. Mane shows too much desperation to win the ball and gives Al-Sharari a nudge on the back and the referee blows the whistle. 

Al-Harbi flashes a cross across the face of the goal. Carlos Junior was there and looked to get at the end of the cross but cannot reach the ball on time. 

SHB booking: The referee has a look and books Shabab’s Yannick Carrasco for stepping on Alawjami. The initial thought was whether he would see red because VAR is not usually used to dishing out yellow cards. A strange one there but we go on. 

There is another VAR check as Alawjami is down the ground. It seems like Carrasco had stepped on him once the Al Nassr played had gone down on the ground. 

A stuttering run-up from Ronaldo but there is no lack of conviction as he takes the shot and buries the ball at the back of the net. Al Absi guessed right but could not get a hand to the ball. 

Ronaldo has now scored his 750th career goal in club football. 

The referee does not take much time after he has a look and immediately points to the spot. Cristiano Ronakdo has already picked up the ball, ready to take the spot-kick. 

Play has stopped for a moment as VAR is checking for a possible penalty. Iago Santos seemed to have a blocked a shot with his arm inside his box. 

VAR has asked the referee to come and have a look at the screen. 

Carrasco threads a good pass to Diallo, who makes a run at goal. He is not able to cut in and is pushed wide by the Al Nassr defence. He flashes a cross across the face of the goal, hoping to find a teammate but there wasn’t any Shabab player to attack the cross. 

Carrasco cuts in from the left and goes for a low shot at the near-post. But Nassr keeper Abdullah shows good reflexes to get down and makes the save, sending the ball out for a corner. 

It is an excellent counter attack by Al Nassr. Mane is played a good pass from the left and he makes his way inside the box. Al Absi comes off his line to narrow the angle for him, but the Senegalese dinks the ball over Al Absi to find the net. However, the goal does not count as Mane is flagged offside. 

Rakitic gets the ball and decides to shoot. He pulls the trigger from distance, which forces a save from Abdullah. 

Talisca is not able to get his shot away but Brozovic spots the loose ball and goes for first-time shot from the edge of the box. The shot takes a dangerous deflection but Shabab keeper Al Absi is alert enough to push the ball over a corner. 

Shabab has started as the stronger team here, putting the Al Nassr defence under pressure. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team are yet to find their footing in the match. 

Habib Diallo gets the ball and makes a run at the Nassr goal. He looked offside but keeps running as the whistle does not come. Finally, it does and Al Nassr has a freekick. 

The Saudi Pro League match between Al Shabab and Al Nassr is underway at the Al Shabab FC Stadium in Riyadh. 

Played: 46

Al Shabab wins: 16

Al Nassr wins: 17

Draws: 13 

Al Nassr will clash against Al Shabab in a Saudi Pro League match at the Al Shabab Stadium in Riyadh on Sunday. 

Al Shabab did not win any of its first three home games this season, but after a 4-1 victory against Al Hazm in mid-September, Shabab has lost only once in six games at home, winning four and drawing one.

However, Al Shabab will have a challenge in its hands as it faces an Al Nassr side, which cruised to a 4-0 win in the reverse fixture back in August, which marked its fourth consecutive match without a win against Nassr. (W0 D1 L3).

Al Nassr will aim to close the gap with league leader Al Hilal, which maintained its seven-point advantage at the top of the league standings with both sides securing wins last weekend.

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

The Al Shabab vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match will kick-off at 10:30 PM IST, Sunday, February 25 at the Al Shabab Stadium in Riyadh 

Where can you watch the Al Shabab vs Al Nassr Saudi Pro League match?

The live telecast of the match between Al-Shabab and Al-Nassr is available on Sony Sports Network. 

The live streaming of the match between Al-Shabab and Al-Nassr is available on Sony Liv.