Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr continued their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League with a win over Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq.
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Ronaldo's Al-Nassr down Gerrard's Al-EttifaqMane turns up in top form with two assistsWijnaldum has a night to forget for Al-EttifaqTELL ME MORE
Al-Nassr cruised to a simple win over Al-Ettiaq thanks to a first-half penalty from their five-time Ballon d'Or winner, a second-half strike by left-back Salem Al-Najdi and Anderson Talisca's perfect strike in the 70th minute.
Al-Nassr began the match on the front foot with a barrage of attacks early in the first half. However, Gerrard's men held strong until Ronaldo scored a penalty past Marek Rodak. Al-Ettifaq failed to grow into the game but kept Pioli's side from creating much threat for the rest of the half.
The second half saw a bigger gap between the two sides develop as Talisca and Sadio Mane got the better of Meshal Ali Khayarallah and Radhi Al-Otebi. Mane set Al-Najdi through on goal for Al-Nassr's second before setting Talisca up with a pinpoint cutback to give Al-Nassr a perfect 3-0 win.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE MVP
Former Liverpool star Mane has not had the best of times in the Saudi Pro League since he joined Al-Nassr, but he was on song against Al-Ettifaq as he played a pivotal role in the important win with two assists.
A special mention also goes to Pioli who set Al-Nassr up for success in his first game in charge as last season's Saudi Pro League runners-up seemed like a much smoother and direct version of the side that took the field under Luis Castro this season.
Getty Images SportTHE BIG LOSER
Georgino Wijnaldum has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season for Gerrard's side, however, the former Liverpool star seemed to slip back into his form from last season as he struggled to rotate and maintain possession for his side. The 33-year-old was also loose on a few occasions, putting his backline in danger on multiple occasions. Regardless, Wijnaldum has been wonderful for Al-Ettifaq this season, and he will hope to dust off the poor performance before his side's next game against Al-Adalah in the King Cup of Champions.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Al-Nassr will now look to carry their spectacular and faultless performance into their King Cup round of 32 clash against Al-Hazm on September 23.