Raja Casablanca 1-3 Al Nassr Highlights: Cristiano Ronaldo scores as Al Nassr enters Arab Club Champions Cup semifinals

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Al Nassr beat Raja Casablanca 3-1 to enter the semifinals of the Arab Club Champions Cup.

Al Nassr tries an attack with Ronaldo rushing into the box. Ghareeb delivers a cross from the left but the Raja CA goalie intercepts right on time as Ronaldo shakes his head in frustration. The result, for him and his team, however, would be a very encouraging one if it stays like this at FT.

Al Nassr has dominated the second half way more than it did in the first. But the job, the goals, were decided inthe opening 45 minutes and that is what will count as the team gears up for the semifinal next.

Flares and flames have coloured the air around the stadium as thousands of Al Nassr fans sing “Ole! Ole! Ole” and brandish flames in support of Ronaldo and the club he plays for, in Saudi Arabia.

Sultan wins the ball in the Al Nassr half and marches up the pitch. He beats two defenders as he barges into the box and passes to Ghareeb who then gets it to Ronaldo. Ronaldo stops, switches his attack and then shoot but the ball hits the woodwork.

Raja Casablanca is trying everything possible to get another goal back. Wardi gets a cross in for Boulacsou but the header flies over the net and out of play.

Al Nassr shifts fro defence to attack in a flash with Ronaldo pairing up with Ghareeb along the left flank. Ghareeb completes an overlap with Ronaldo but the Portuguese’s final touch is poor as the ball goes out for a Raja CA goal kick.

Raja CA has started pressing late in the game, asking constrant question in the final third but Al Nassr has five men stationed at the back at the moment with Brozovic back to do his defensive duties as the sixth player. Ronaldo has shifted to a No. 9 position now.

In: Sulaiheem, Ghareeb, Out: Fofana, Mane

Zerhouni, the second subsititute for Raja CA at half-time, tries a shot on goal from outside the box. But Alaqidi gets his gloves to that as well. Seconds later, Alaqidi is beaten by a tricky long ball by Raja CA but Alkhaibari gets to it to cleat it for Al Nassr.

Raja CA starts an attack on the left flank with Bouchaib and Zardi combining. The former gets the final pass to Zardi, who shoots with his right foot right into the gloves of Alaqidi.

Raja Casabianca tries to attack on the counter but the pass in the final third is intercepted by Lajami as Al Nassr gets back control in the game.

Mane goes on a briliant solo run, beats two opponents and then tries to beat the third but is fouled by Wardi. The resulting free-kick is taken by Ronaldo but no danger is created from that at all.

Raja CA is now playing with a three-man defence which clearly indicated its intention to go all guns blazing in this quarterfinal clash. The side has won this tournament twice before, with the latest one coming in 2020.

Raja CA creates a wonderful passage of play with Aholou getting a through diagonal cross to Bouzok on the right. But the No. 26 fails to connect well enough as the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

Bentayg whips in a cross from the left for Raja CA but Telles intercepts it in the centre and the ball then lands in the gloves of Al-Aqidi.

Al Nassr attacks on the counter with Ronaldo carryong the ball along the left flank and Brozovic and Mane running along with him for cover. Ronaldo crosses for Brozovic but the pass is intercepted by the Raja CA defence.

Raja CA starts an attack and tries an overlaing run along the left wing. However, the final run behind the Al Nassr defence is spotted by the linesman, who raises the flag for off-side.

Raja CA will still see a chance to make a combeack, thanks to the own goal by Madu, which has reduced the margin to two goals. However, Ronaldo and Co. still has the edge and will look to build on the lead in the next 45 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo started the goal rush while Seko Fofana scored the third as Al Nassr looked well and truly the better side since the first quarter of the game.

Sadio Mane and Ronaldo link up with the former getting the final pass. He is surrounded by the opposition defence as he releases it to Brozovic but the Croat fails to connect well.

A defensive error by Madu sees his team concede an own goal. Zrida gets the ball in the final third for Raja CA, who delivers a low cross in the centre. In a bid to clear the ball, Madu gets to it, but his touch sees the ball lob over Al-Aqidi and into his own net.

The boys in green try an attack along the flanks but are quickly dispossessed of the ball as Ronaldo gets it to the final third. And Brozovic finally gets it, who passes it to Telles, and the Brazilian’s cross is headed into the net by Fofana.

Telles tries another cross from the left anf this time Bouchaib heads it out of play for a Al Nassr corner kick, which is also headed out of danger by the Raja Casablanca defence.

Al Nassr is looking to attack though set-pieces and Telles tries to get the ball to the centre with a run along the flanks. Raja CA blocks it but seocnd later, Ronaldo tries a similar run along the left and goes for goal, forcing a save by Zniti.

Al Nassr attacks on the counter with Sultan Al Ghanam making a forward run. He beats his marker on the right flank and goes for goal himself with a shot past Zniti. After a VAR check, it is seen that he was well on-side.

Raja CA has been trying to attack but its attempts have all been futile so far. Rahimi tries another attempt with a run behind the defence but gets caught in the off-side trap as the linesman raises his flag.

Fofana, Talisca and Mane combine along the left flank this time but Raja CA gets the ball out of danger with Boulascou rushing to get to the ball on the other end of the field. However, Alaqidi comes out to render his services as a sweeper-keeper, kicking it out of play and danger.

The stadium rings with fans songs and chants as Al Nassr enjoys the slender lead with commanding defence. Though Raja CA gets a corner, it is cleared by the boys in blue-and-yellow.

Talisca gets the ball along the right flank, beats his marker and then cuts back to set up Ronaldo who rattles the net with a hit from outside the box, with his right foot.

Al Nassr has been able to build a few movements in the final third, starting from the back, but has failed to dominate the game, as it did against Monastir.

Ronaldo, having scored two goals in as many games is the usual target as Aholou fouls him., pushing him down. The referee gives a foul but keeps the cards in his pocket.

Rahimi tries to start another attack for Raja CA but Alaqidi and the Al Nasr defence keeps him at bay to deny another chance for Raja CA to get the scoreboard ticking.

Raja CA is maintaining a high line andis trying to drag Al Nassr towards itself and tehn starts an attack along the left flank with a through ball. But Madu is there to clear the ball away, out of danger.

Mane is being surrounded time and again by Raja CA. The team would know him better than most players in Al Nassr, with the forward weaving his magic with Senegal in Africa.

The afternoon rings with cheers from fans at Abha as Al Nassr ooks to continue its winning form, following a rather dull pre-season.

Sadio Mane tries to make a run behind the defence but is tightly marked as the ball goes out for a throw-in.

Al Nasst starts from right to left while Raja Casablanca starts from the other side. Mane is starting for the Saudi side for the very first time.

The players are out on the field. Al Nassr, in its conventional yellow and blue while Raja CA start in green.

Cristiano Ronaldo has found the net from set-pieces in consecutive games after a drab pre-season with Al Naasr. This quarterfinal clash with the three-time African Champions League winner may just be another stage for him to prove his quality of being a clutch player.

Anas Zniti, Adbessanad Badaou, Ismail Mokadem, Mahmoud Bentayg, Arassi Bouchaib, Mohamed Al Makaazi, Mohamed Zrida, Roger Aholou, Yousri Bouzok, Houssine Rahimi, Mohamed Boulacsou

Cristiano Ronaldo leads the attack for Al Nassr in the Arab Club Championship Cup quarterfinal.

Starting XI: Nawaf, Sultan, ,Lajami, Mado, Telles, Alkhaibari, Brozovic, Fofana, Talisca, Mane, Ronaldo

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Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to ride on his good form at Al Nassr as he hunts for his first silverware with the Saudi Pro League side, in the Arab Club Champions Cup on Sunday.

His side faces Raja Casablanca next, a team which has won this tournament twice (2006, 2020) and is also a three-time CAF Champions League winner.

Al Nassr, which saw Ronaldo scoring twice in consecutive games, secured its spot in the final eight of the tournament with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner finding the equaliser in the 87th minute.

In the second group-stage game, the 38-year-old scored with a header, becoming the highest goalscorer through headers in the game’s history, surpassing Gerd Muller’s tally of 144 goals.

Al Nassr, which finished second in the league last season, has made significant additions to its squad ahead of this season.

Marcelo Brozovic, who finished as the runner-up in the UEFA Champions League last season, and Seko Fofana, the captain of Ligue 1 side RC Lens, who steered the side to UCL after 21 years, have both bolstered the midfield since their arrival.

The latest addition, however, has been that of Sadio Mane from Bayern Munich, who was instrumental in helping Liverpool win the Champions League and the Premier League title for the very first time.

Ahead of the clash against Raja Casablanca, it will be interesting to see if Al Nassr chooses to have Anderson Talisca, Mane and Ronaldo as its front three or if it starts the Senegalese from the bench as it did in the previous match.

The kick-off for the match is scheduled at 8:30 pm IST.