Al Qadsiah came from behind to hand Al Nassr their first defeat of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season and draw level on points with them in the league table.
In front of 18,471 fans at Al Awwal Park, the home team nearly took the lead inside 53 seconds when Otavio intercepted the ball inside the Al Qadsiah half and fed Cristiano Ronaldo in the visitors’ penalty area. The club captain looked to drill the shot with his left but was denied by an exceptional save from the feet of Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
Al Qadsiah responded in kind as Cameron Puertas fired an effort with his left from just outside the area, the ball taking a deflection off Al Nassr midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and thus needing some fine flexibility from goalkeeper Bento to tip it away.
Otavio continued to be the beating heart of Al Nassr’s midfield and once more provided an exquisite pass behind the defence; this time, the recipient was right winger Angelo, who aimed for the bottom far corner but his shot slid just wide.
The home crowd had already started celebrating when Sadio Mane dribbled past two defenders and sent a drilled ball across the goalmouth for Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who had the goal at his mercy from three yards. However, the Saudi Arabia international inexplicably miscued his finish, sending the ball over the crossbar.
Despite leading the RSL in clean sheets with six going into the match, Al Qadsiah’s Casteels was left red-faced when, on 32 minutes, he failed to deal with Angelo’s cross from the right, spilling the ball into the path of Ronaldo who made no mistakes to sweep home his seventh goal of the campaign to open Al Nassr’s account on the night.
It took only five minutes, though, for the away side to restore parity. Some nifty footwork by Turki Al Ammar down the left was followed by a pinpoint cross that was expertly chested down by Julian Quinones, with the Mexico international firing on the half-volley into the back of the net for 1-1.
Buoyed by his fifth goal in nine RSL appearances, the forward picked up where he left off for the second half. Quinones showed his quality to meet Nahitan Nandez’s diagonal ball with a first-time cross at the far post, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang waited with a diving header into the empty net to set up the victory for Al Qadsiah.
Coach Michel’s men could have further extended their lead at the hour mark when Puertas teed up Aubameyang with a lovely back-heel pass, but the Gabon international’s strike was saved by Bento.
At the other end of the pitch, Casteels recovered from his uncharacteristic mistake to deny Angelo and Ronaldo, the latter’s left-footed shot coming in the very last minute of nine minutes of added time. The Belgian’s save secured a first league defeat for Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli, leaving Al Hilal as the only unbeaten team in the competition ahead of their clash with Al Khaleej on Saturday.
The result adds fuel to the already-burning fire at the top end of the RSL table. Al Qadsiah join Al Nassr on 22 points, with Al Shabab in fourth place, separated only on goal difference. Al Qadsiah are now on a four-match winning streak, their longest in the Pro League era.
Swiss
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