Al Nassr advances to the Arab Club Champions League final thanks to a penalty strike by Cristiano Ronaldo. Al Nassr’s official Twitter account provided video of Ronaldo’s clinical conversion from the spot. “Ronaldo with his amazing technique,” tweeted Al Nassr.
Ronaldo’s goal against Al Shorta was his fourth in a row in an Al Nassr jersey. Al Nassr will face Al Hilal in the final match of the Arab Club Champions Cup.
Al Nassr completely dominated their semi-final match, having 64% ball possession and 15 shots. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Riyadh-based team might have easily taken a three-goal lead. However, Al Shorta’s Iraqi goalkeeper Ahmed Basil produced two key stops to keep his team in the game.
The second half began similarly, with Al Nassr maintaining their ultra-attacking strategy. The breakthrough came in the 75th minute, when opposition centre-back Faisal Jasim fouled Sadio Mane inside the penalty box. Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his cool to score the game-winning goal. The Iraqi champions had a wonderful opportunity to equalize in the final minute of the game, but Al Nassr goalkeeper Nawaf Alaqidi made a crucial stop to preserve the clean sheet.
Following the game, Al Nassr coach Luis Castro emphasized the importance of strengthening his team’s defense. “I asked the club for another foreign centre-back because we will compete in many competitions,” Castro was reported as saying during the post-match press conference by Sportskeeda.
Despite bringing in a high-profile signing in Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr finished the season without a trophy. The Saudi team will now try to end their trophy drought by winning the Arab Club Champions Cup.
Ronaldo’s outstanding form will undoubtedly provide a significant lift to the club ahead of the final encounter. In the quarter-finals of the Arab Club Champions Cup, the 38-year-old scored Al Nassr’s opening goal against Raja Casablanca. In that match, Al Nassr won convincingly 3-1. Ronaldo has scored 17 goals in 23 appearances for Al Nassr.
