Sadio Mane, not Ronaldo, scripts Al-Nassr's stunning victory against Al-Ettifaq
Al-Nassr FC Tuesday trounced Al-Ettifaq Club in their latest Saudi Pro League 2026-27 Group Match, and it was Sadio Mane, and not Cristiano Ronaldo, who scripted the reigning champion’s victory in Dammam
Saudi Pro League 2026-27: Al-Nassr FC Tuesday trounced Al-Ettifaq Club in their latest Saudi Pro League 2026-27 Group Match, and it was Sadio Mane, and not Cristiano Ronaldo, who scripted the reigning champion’s victory in Dammam.
Playing against Al Nassr FC at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Al-Ettifaq took early lead in the 31st minute of the match, thanks to the marvelous effort by Slovak professional footballer, Ondrej Duda, who plays as Midfielder.
Al-Ettifaq improved its score by another goal when Spanish professional footballer Alvaro Medran shined in the added time barely few minutes before the Half Time.
But, the one man - to whom the credit for Al-Ettifaq’s two goals goes, is Al-Nassr substitute keeper Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi. Al-Otaibi was replaced by regular goalkeeper Bento who was shown a direct red card for cleaning out striker Moussa Dembele 12 minutes into the First Half.
Al-Nassr FC Bounces Back
The Al-Nassr was playing with just 10 players as Bento was off the field after receiving the Red Card, and Angelo Gabriel was removed for substitute keeper Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi.
Al-Otaibi was arguably at fault for both of Al Ettifaq’s goals. He first parried Ondrej Duda’s strike from outside the box up into the roof of the net for the opener in the 31st minute, before weakly failing to push out Alvaro Medran’s strike for the second.
The First Half ended with the score yelling at 2-0 in Al-Ettifaq’s favour. A major setback was writ large for Al-Nassr, the Saudi Football Club which has planned another round of Saudi Pro League unbeaten spell after its historic victory in the last season.
To avoid this, a tough decision was needed, and Postecoglou did exactly the same. He replaced Cristiano Ronaldo by midfielder Abdullah Al-Khaibari as Al-Nassr footballers hit the ground after the Half Time.
The comeback for Al-Nassr began in the 74th minute when Sadio Mane sent the ball into the net after being played through by Joao Felix. Three minutes later, Abdulelah Al-Amri rose highest to put home Felix’s corner with a thumping header.
The turnaround was completed when Sadio Mane ran clear and netted in the final minute of regulation time taking the score to 3-2 in Al-Nassr's favour. The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but was eventually given after a VAR check.
With this victory, Al-Nassr FC is now leading the Saudi Pro League Standings table with 09 points after 03 matches. Al Nassr will now play against Al Taawoun in its next SPL match on Friday, August 28, 2026.
In another Saudi Pro League 26/27 matches of the week, Al Ittihad defeated Al-Hazem, and Al Qadsiah defeated Neom in their respective matches played on Monday August 24, 2026.
[Zohair Mohammed Safwan Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com.]Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.
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