Al Nassr vs Abha score, result, highlights, as Cristiano Ronaldo scores goal in late comeback win
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr made their latest comebacks to keep their title hopes alive as they beat Abha 2-1 after coming down 1-0.
The win brings them within a single point of leaders Al Ittihad with nine games left in the season. Al Ittihad won their game convincingly earlier in the day by beating Al Fateh 5-1 after a hat-trick from top scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah.
Al Nassr was shocked by an Abha goal in the first half scored by Abdulfattah Adam who happens to be an Al Nassr product on loan to Abha. The 28-year-old did well to put in a shot in the top corner and refused to celebrate out of respect for Al Nassr and the club’s fans.
Al Nassr struggled to find an answer with chaotic attack sequences and little flow in her movements. Their urgency increased after the break but they needed a long-range goal from Ronaldo and a Talisca penalty to win.
MORE: Why Ronaldo raged at the referee in their King Cup win
Al Nassr vs Abha Final Score
| 1H | 2H | final | |
| Al Nassr | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Abha | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Goals:
ABHA – Adam (Bguir) – 26th minute.
NASSR – Cristiano Ronaldo – 78th minute.
NASSR – Talisca (penalty) – 86 min.
Lineups:
Al-Nassr (4-3-3): 44-Nawaf Alaqidi (GK) — 2-Sultan Al-Ghanam, 5-Alamri, 21-Alvaro Gonzalez, 13-Konan — 8-Alsulaihem (16-Maran, 46′), 18-Luiz Gustavo, 17-Alkhaibari (19 -Alhassan, 65′)— 94-Talisca, 7-Ronaldo, 29-Ghareeb
Abha (4-2-3-1): 16-Devis Epassy (GK) – 39-Al Hamsal, 19-Attouchi, 4-Natiq, 3-Al-Zori – 21-Al Sudani, 34-Saddiki – 9-Fattah Adam, 10-Bguir, 88-Al-Salouli — 20-Felipe Caicedo
MORE: Al Nassr game plan at the end of the 2022-23 season
Al Nassr vs Abha live updates, highlights from the Saudi Pro League
Final: Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
Final: No real threat from Abha for Al Nassr’s lead and Cristiano Ronaldo and his club are now just a point behind Al Ittihad for first place in the Saudi Pro League.
90 minutes: There are 12 minutes of stoppage time that have been given. What a turn by Al Nassr.
86 minutes: Penalty Al Nassr! Everything collapses for Abha. VAR lets the referee look at the handball of Abhas Adam (Al Nassr’s loanee). And Talisca makes it happen. Al Nassr turned that around!
80 minutes: Red card for Abha! Al Sudani gets the second yellow card.
78 minutes: Tor Al Nassr! It’s Cristiano Ronaldo with a free-kick rocket from long range that goes through the wall and beats Abha’s Cameroonian goalkeeper. The goal came shortly after Ronaldo missed the connection with a header on the doorstep.
76 minutes: Chance Abha! It’s Adam with the great move but he can’t finish it.
69 minutes: Chance Al Nassr! The ball rotates between Al Nassr’s attackers before landing in Cristiano Ronaldo’s box. But his footwork doesn’t give him enough space and his shot is blocked again by Natiq. He was excellent today.
65 minutes: SUB Al Nassr. Al-Khaibari is off and Ali Alhassan is on. This is a like-for-like exchange.
60 minutes: Al Nassr’s attacking impulse fizzled out in the last few minutes.
53 minutes: Chance Al Nassr! The ball lands in front of Ghareeb’s feet on the left and his close-range shot is saved by Abha goalkeeper Devis Epassy. The Cameroon goalkeeper is said to have great reflexes. There’s a bit more urgency to Al Nassr’s game.
46th minute: Chance Al Nassr! Just seconds into the second half, Talisca unleashed a flying scissors punch that narrowly missed the left post. That was close by Al Nassr to start the half.
Halftime: Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
half time: It was a disappointing first half from Al Nassr and they didn’t create nearly enough. Cristiano Ronaldo has been slow and there is generally little teamwork or combination in attack as Ghareeb, Ronaldo and Talisca are all trying to do things alone. There is little chemistry for the men in yellow.
Meanwhile, Abha has shown solid teamwork. They defend as a team – including the wingers – and they scored a goal from the promising Fattah Adam, who refused to celebrate having scored against his home club. The Abha Front Four can cause transition problems. In fact, Abha looks more likely to lead 2-0 than Al Nassr equalizes.
45 minutes: Five minutes of stoppage time. Abha defended himself properly. They want to take a trail into the lockers.
37 minutes: Chance Al Nassr! Ghareeb shoots from long range and is deflected to a corner. But the Al-Nass chances have not bothered the goalkeeper so far.
33 minutes: Yellow to Al Nassr’s Al-Khaibari. The defensive midfielder knocked down Abha centre-forward Felipe Caicedo, who was on the break. A deserved booking and Abha show they are dangerous at the break. Al Nassr just isn’t inspired in attack.
26 minutes: Goal for Abha! It’s Abdulfattah Adam on loan from Al Nassr to score the goal. He sends a shot into the top 90 that can’t be stopped.
18 minutes: Ronaldo denies again! What another great play by Natiq sliding in the penalty area to stop Ronaldo who was 1-on-1 against the Abha goalkeeper.
14 minutes: Excellent defensive play by Iraqi centre-back Natiq, who intercepts Cristiano Ronaldo in the Abha penalty area. Clean, classifying defensive intervention.
7 min: Disallowed goal Abha! A set piece on goal is parried by Al Nassr’s goalkeeper straight to Abha centre-back Attouchi, who bounces it off the post.
But the VAR intervened and Attouchi was ruled offside from the free kick. Target deleted. Good decision by the officials.
1st minute: We are away. Abha with early possession in their maroon away shirts.
1 minute after kick-off: The two captains take the photos in midfield. They are Cristiano Ronaldo and Abha left-back Al Zori.
2 minutes after kick-off: The teams are out on the field and we’re just getting started.
30 minutes after kick-off: Warm-up exercises are underway at Msool Park in Riyadh.
And a touch of James Brown:
60 minutes after kick-off: It will be Felipe Caicedo (Abha) trying to outplay Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) in this league game.
120 minutes after kick-off: Here’s how these teams fared just four days ago in their King’s Cup Quarterfinals, which Al Nassr comfortably won:
Al Nassr vs. Abha lineups
More squad rotation from Rudi Garcia, who held Taliska And Jaloliddin Masharipov on the bench and gave Luis Gustavo a break for the cup game. Two of the three start in a must-win game for Al Nassr captain Sami Al-Najei absent due to injury.
Lineup of Al Nassr (4-3-3): 44-Nawaf Alaqidi (GK) — 2-Sultan Al-Ghanam, 5-Alamri, 21-Alvaro Gonzalez, 13-Konan — 8-Alsulaihem, 18-Luiz Gustavo, 17-Alkhaibari — 94-Talisca, 7-Ronaldo, 29 -Ghareeb
Al Nasssr substituted (9): 22-Agustin Rossi (GK), 4-Mohammed Al-Fatil, 3-Abdullah Madu, 27-Majed Qasheesh, 19-Ali Alhassan, 12-Nawaf Boushal, 78-Ali Lajami, 77-Jaloliddin Masharipov, 16-Mohammed Maran
MORE: Al Nassr players, full roster and shirt numbers
Abha head coach Roel Coumans adjusted to a 3-4-3, which was more of a 3-6-1 midweek, and a star striker Felipe Caicedo wasn’t even in the squad. That changes for this league game, which sees Abha just six points above the relegation zone.
Abha formation (4-2-3-1): 16-Devis Epassy (GK) – 39-Saeed Al Hamsal, 19-Amine Attouchi, 4-Saad Natiq, 3-Abdullah Al-Zoari – 21-Zakaria Al Sudani, 34-Driess Saddiki – 9-Abdulfattah Adam, 10-Saad Bguir, 88-Saad Al-Salouli — 20-Felipe Caicedo
Abha Subs (9): 33-Mansour Jawhar (GK), 12-Abdulrahman Al Bouq (GK), 31-Sari Amro, 13-Mohammed Al-Kunaydiri, 23-Nasser Al-Omran, 15-Mutair Al-Zahrani, 8-Uros Matic, 18- Nawaf Al-Sadi, 25-Abdrulrahman Al-Alawi
Al Nassr vs Abha live stream, tv channel
Local broadcasters in select countries have acquired the rights to televise or stream the Saudi Pro League, while fans in other countries can subscribe to them Streaming platform Shahid for full coverage.
According to LiveSoccerTV, the following channels will broadcast Al Nassr’s league games:
- Australia: 10games
- Caribbean: DirecTV Sports
- India & Asia: Sony LIV
- Malaysia: go astro
- Mexico: Claro Sport
- Saudi Arabia: SSC
- South America: DirecTV Sports
MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo’s salary in Saudi Arabia
| TV channel | stream | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | 10 games |
| Canada | — | Shaheed |
| Hong Kong | — | myTV great |
| India | Sony TEN 2 | Shahid, JioTV, SONY LIV |
| Malaysia | — | Astro Go, Sooka |
| New Zealand | — | Shaheed |
| Singapore | — | Shaheed |
| United Kingdom | — | shahid, *Sky Sports YouTube channel |
| USA | — | Shaheed |
*In the UK, Sky Sports shows most Saudi Pro League Al Nassr matches for free on its YouTube channel.