Al Nassr clinched a comfortable 3-1 win against Abha to qualify for the King Cup of Champions semifinal on Tuesday.
Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Al-Khaibari and Mohammad Marran got on the scoresheet for Al Nassar, while Abdulfattah Adam Ahmad Mohammed scored the only goal for Abha.
Al Nassr had a lightning-fast start to the match, scoring its first goal under ten seconds of the starting whistle. Sultan Al- Ghanam got the ball on the right flank and threaded a beautiful through ball for Sami, who beat the Abha backline with a perfectly-timed run. Once he was one-on-one with the keeper inside the box, he took a shot, which crept inside the goal after taking a minor deflection.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his men did not have to wait long for the second goal. In the 21st minute, Al Nassr, who was already dominating the proceedings, conjured a well-crafted attacking move. Ghislain Konan got the ball on the left flank and spotted Al- Khaibari inside the box. Konan found Khaibari with an accurate low ball, and the latter blasted the ball passed Abha keeper Devis Epassy with a first-time volley.
Rudi Garcia’s men scored their third in the second-half. In the 49th minute, there was a miscommunication between the Abha backline as no one cleared the ball from Epassy’s punch. Marran, who had originally attacked the cross that led to Epassy’s save, was the first to reach the loose ball and blast it into the net.
Al Nassr could not keep a clean sheet, however. In the 69th minute, second-half substitute Abdulfattah scored off a rebound to pull one back for Abha. While that could have been an opening for a second-half comeback, the away team could not capitalise, and Al Nassr strolled to an easy victory.
Ronaldo had a disappointing game. While he had a couple of shots at goal, he did not pose any substantial threat to the Abha goal. Booked just before the half-time whistle due to dissent, the Portuguese was subbed off in the 87th minute with Brazilian Talisca taking his place.
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