Al-Nassr 4-2 Shabab Al-Ahli, AFC Champions League HIGHLIGHTS: Brozovic, Talisca late goals help Al Nassr win

And with that, a roller coaster of a game comes to an end. What looked like a third straight defeat for Al Nassr, has now turned into a game that they will remeber for quite a while. All thanks to Talisca, who scored the decisive goal in the 95th minute, with Brozovic finishing off in style two minutes later

AND ANOTHER ONE!! IT’S BROZOVIC THIS TIME. HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED! From 1-2 down to 4-2. We’ve just witnessed a roller coaster ride at the KSU Stadium

TALISCA!!! COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE MAN! Yahya crossed it from the left flank and Talisca headed it past Naser without much fuss. Game on!

SEVEN ADDED MINUTES!

WHAT A MOMENT! AL GHANNAM HEADS IT IN! Just minutes before the full time whistle Al Nassr pulls one back

Mane progresses into the box, tries to play a cross but two defenders work in tandem and try to clear it but miscues it. Talisca goes for the volley but shoots it high

Yahya is injured and is taken off the field. No substitution yet. Won’t be needing one as the man is back swiftly

Into the final minutes of the game and looks like Ronaldo and his men will succumb to yet another defeat. Surely not the start that they would’ve hoped

Mane at the edge of the box, chips one inside the box towards Ronaldo. The latter jumps but the ball travels higher than him and is deflected. Talisca collects it on the rebound and attempts to finish but fails to keep it on target. Hydration break taken

Corner for Al Nassr. Ghareeb takes it. Sends in a searching cross that is cleared away for a throw in

Ronaldo gestures towards the fans to increase their volume. Al Nassr would certainly need that since it is on its way towards a third straight defeat

OUT: Al Amri IN: Mukhtar Ali

OUT: Abdalla IN: Tariq

WHAT AN EFFORT! Konan from the left flank sent in a powerful shot that crashed on to the crossbar. Would’ve been a spectacular goal!

Freekick for Al Ahli. Ganiev’s long ranged effort blazes past the post and into the stands

AL Ghannam picks Mane at the edge of the box. Mane takes it inside the box but trips after two defenders converge on him. He claims a penalty but nothing from the referee. Replay shows Planic clipping Mane’s legs but it’s too late now

Talisca tries to find Ronaldo inside the box via a through ball but the ball goes agonisingly close to the latter. Goal kick for Al Ahli

OUT: Al Sulayhim IN: Ghareeb

Freekick for Al Nassr. Ronaldo takes it from a long way out and tries his luck but the ball is nowhere near the goal

Alghassani’s error leads it an Al Nassr attack as Ronaldo collects the ball near the halfway line. He then finds Mane on the left. The latter tries to evade Abbas but is fouled.

Alaqidi’s proactive run outside the box keeps Dabbur at bay but the forward was caught offside on the buildup

RIGHT AFTER THE COMMENCEMENT OF SECOND HALF, AL AHLI TAKES THE LEAD. ALGHASSANI IS THE SCORER

Portugal midfielder Otavio has joined Al-Nassr from Portuguese side Porto, the Saudi Pro League club said on Tuesday. READ MORE

With that, the first 45 minutes come to an end. Ronaldo, runs towards the referee to protest and then proceeds to walk back gesturing and pushing the support staff.

Al Khaibari plays a wonderful long ball towards an unmarked Mane. He dribbles inside the box but two defenders gang up on him. Mane picks Ronaldo on the left and he advances into the box but collides with Milivojevic. Claims a penalty, same reaction from the ref. One might call that harsh, considering Ronaldo was in a prime position to score.

Corner for Al Nassr after Al Amri’s cross attempt is cleared away by Ganiev. Talisca gets the ball and crosses it to Ronaldo, who tries a bicycle kick but could not keep it on target. He claims for a handball but the referee is unmoved

FOUR ADDED MINUTES

Free kick for Al Nassr. Brozovic takes it and sends in a curler but Alghassani jumps above everyone to clear it

Brozovic links up to Mane on the left lane but the latter is caught offiside before anything happens

Milivojevic floats in a tricky lofted ball that surprises Alaqidi. Would’ve been dangerous if it was within the range of Dabbur but the ball goes outside for a goal kick

Game resumes. Yahya gets the ball near the halfway line, moves a bit into the opposition’s half and tries to chip it inside the box but is defended well. Ganiev snatches the ball on rebound and puts in a long ranged effort that is saved by Alaqidi

Corner for Al Ahli. Milivojevic tries to head it in but the ball goes outside for a goal kick. Hydration break taken

Ronaldo gets the ball from Konan and the former makes a run towards the box but falls down before the box with Sulaiman trying to stop him. Ronaldo asks for a foul but is turned down again by the referee. Replay shows that the defender was indeed clean

Mane, from the middle, tries to find Konan on the left but the latter is marked to perfection by Abdalla and Milivojevic

Ronaldo makes a mess out of a chance! The Al Nassr skipper got the ball inside the box, tried to get past a defender but loses control of the ball. Then tries to cross it to Mane but Abbas clears it away

Free kick for Al Nassr and Brozovic takes it. Sends in a lofted ball towards Talisca but it is cleared away for a corner

AL AHLI RESTORES PARITY QUICKLY. Dabbur decieves a couple of defenders inside the box to cross it to Yahya, who slots it in past Alaqidi!

Brozovic causing all sorts of problems for Al Ahli. This time, he makes a dangerous run on the left before finding Mane near the box. The latter then flicks it to Ronaldo inside the box. But the Portuguese fails to get past two marking defenders

Al Fatil makes an astounding sliding tackle to stop Abdalla from going into the final third. Would’ve become a tricky situation had the No.7 not stopped him

Corner for Al Nassr. Brozovic serves it in and serves it GOOD AS TALISCA HEADS IT IN TO GIVE AL NASSR THE LEAD! An inch perfect ball came inside the box, Talisca, out of nowhere ran towards the ball to head it past Naser

Superb set of moves from Ronaldo as he evades a couple of defenders with his trademark dribble and finds Konan on the left. The skipper gets the ball back and progresses into the box but is blocked by two converging defenders. Ronaldo asks for a penalty but the referee thinks otherwise

Brozovic from outside the box, floats in a searching lofted ball inside towards Al Amri but the ball travels faster than the latter anticipated. Easy save for Naser

Konan and Ronaldo exchange short passes between them on the left flank, trying to form an attack but are stopped in their tracks by Abdalla

Mane finds Talisca right at the edge if the box and the latter tries his luck from a long way out. Attempts to find the bottom left corner but Naser predicts it to perfection and saves it

Al Ghassani breaks free of the final backline and runs towards the goal. It is just Alaqidi between him and a goal but the linesman blows his whistle. Offside

Al Ahli will get the ball rolling and will play left to right

Both the teams have lined up inside the tunnel and are ready to take the field. Ronaldo will lead Al Nassr

This is the first time that these teams are meeting each other

Al Nassr: Nawaf Alaqidi, Sultan Al Ghannam, Mohammed Al Fatil, Abdulah Al Amri, Cristiano Ronaldo, Abdulmajeed Al Sulayhim, Sadio Mane, Ghislain Konan, Marcelo Brozovic, Talisca

Al Ahli: Majed Naser, Walid Abbas, Renan Victor, Bogdan Planic, Saeed Sulaiman, Azizjon Ganiev, Milivojevic, Harib Abdalla, Al Ghassani, Igor Jesus, Munas Dabbur

Cristiano Ronaldo gets his first taste of Asian competition on Tuesday as Al-Nassr meets Shabab Al-Ahli of Dubai in a Champions League preliminary round playoff with the rest of the continent wondering if big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs can be stopped.

Al-Nassr finished second in its domestic league last season but since signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in December, has added more stars this summer. Marcelo Brozkovic, Sadio Mane, Alex Telles and Seko Fofana have arrived from Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Lens respectively.

The club has lost its first two games of the new Saudi Professional League season and Shabab Al-Ahli may be the champion of the United Arab Emirates but Al-Nassr is still seen as a strong favourite to progress to the group stage, especially as the single elimination game will take place at its Riyadh home.

Read the full preview here

Al Nassr: L-L-W-W-W

Al Ahli: W-W-W-W