Sadio Mane emerged as the difference-maker for Al-Nassr as Cristiano Ronaldo was left sulking through a narrow 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh.
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Al-Nassr made to toil for the three pointsMane stole the limelight with the winnerRonaldo's early influence soon fizzled awayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportTELL ME MORE
Al-Nassr had a job to do after Al-Hilal brushed aside Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq earlier on Friday to open up an eight-point lead over Stefano Pioli's men. And they indeed made an encouraging start to the game with Ronaldo repeatedly sneaking in the spaces between the two centre-backs that kept Al-Riyadh keeper, Milan Borjan, busy between the sticks – with the Portuguese talisman denied twice within the first 15 minutes.
As the match progressed, Al-Nassr tightened the noose and it looked only a matter of time before the visitors would draw first blood. They persevered and it took them 41 minutes to break Al-Riyadh's resistance with Mane breaking the deadlock. Otavio sliced open the defence with an incisive through ball for Abdulrahman Ghareeb who drilled in a low cross towards the back post for Mane. The Senegalese forward, despite being tightly marked by a defender, got first to the ball and slotted past a hapless Borjan. Minutes later, he found himself in a one-on-one against the 'keeper but this time Borjan came out on top.
However, after the break, there was a change in script as Al-Riyadh looked more dangerous than their more illustrious opponents. Bernard Mensah was asking serious questions of Al-Nassr's right-back Sultan Al-Ghannam and if it was not for a goal-line clearance from Ali Lajami, the Ghanaian would have got his name on the scoresheet. But their new-found jubilancy soon fizzled out as Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio regained control in midfield. But the final ball remained elusive as frustration crept into Ronaldo. He made several runs into the box behind the defenders but a lack of quality service did not help his cause. In the final quarter, he dropped deep to see more of the ball but poor finishing from Talisca kept the scoreline unchanged.
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Al-Nassr do not have the luxury to drop more points as they are chasing leaders Al-Hilal and if it was not for Mane's opportunistic strike, Pioli would have found himself firmly under the scanner. Although the Liverpool forward could have had a brace if he was a bit more clinical, he produced just enough goods to take Al-Nassr over the line.
THE BIG LOSER
Al-Nassr got the three points but Pioli knows that his side crawled and creeped to the finish line. The fans hoped that the massive 5-1 victory against Al-Ain was the turning point in the season but another insipid display has once again brought out the skeletons from the closet. The Italian must go back to the drawing board to solve the deep-lying malaise, otherwise Ronaldo could end up playing under a third manager before the new year.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR RONALDO?
Ronaldo will now head to Lisbon to rejoin his Portuguese teammates ahead of the Nations League fixtures against Poland and Croatia on November 15 and 18 respectively. He will be back in action for Al-Nassr against Al-Qadisiyah on November 22.