Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fantastic free-kick to help Al Nassr beat Abha in the Saudi Pro League 2023. (Screebgrab)Saudi Pro League Match Today, Al Nassr vs Abha Highlights: Cristiano Ronaldo finally made an impact as he inspired his Al Nassr team to victory over Abha in the Saudi Pro League match. It was a match of several twists and turns as Abha scored in the first half and it seemed like they would go on to script an incredible result but Ronaldo had other ideas. His thunderous free-kick in the 78th minute helped Al Nassr draw level and then five minutes later Talisca converted from the spot to help the hosts take the lead and eventually win the game. With this win Al Nassr remain in second place but only a point behind league leaders Al Ittihad.
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Al Nassr vs Abha Live Score: Cristiano Ronaldo.
PEEP! PEEP! There goes the whistle and victory for Al Nassr ! They move a point within Al Ittihad. What a turnaround by the boys in yellow and blue. It all began with the incredible free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo after which Talisca scored from a penalty. Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
Cristiano Ronaldo is running down the left and is one on one with the goalkeeper and he decides to turn back and keep the possession. Wise decision.
Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
Changes for Al Nassr towards the end of the game as Out: Ghareeb and Al-Ghannam are withdrawn and on come Mashripov and Boushal.
Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
A monstrous 12 mins of time added on.
Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
PENALTY! ANDERSON TALISCAAAAA SCORES FROM THE SPOT! Al Nassr take the lead and Abha have a mountain to climb. VAR forced the referee to take a look at the hand ball call and it is a welcome return for the Brazilian forward! Al Nassr have turned it around. Al Nassr 2-1 Abha
RED CARD FOR ABHA! They are down to 10. This forces changes for Abha: Matic, Amro and Alsadi come in for Saddiki, Al Hamsal and Felipe Caicedo. Al Nassr 1-1 Abha
GOOOOOAAAAL! Ronaldo scores the equalizer with a thunderous freekick ! Watch it below -
A huge chance goes to waste as Adam tries to curl it away the Al Nassr goalkeeper but cannot hit the target. It is a long way wide. That could have been the game there. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Chance for Al Nassr! Their Al Nassr attackers pass it between themselves before it ends at Cristiano Ronaldo in the box. But his footwork doesn't get him enough space and his shot is blocked by Natiq once more. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Cristiano Ronaldo's team dominating the action, but are yet to score. Al-Khaibari is off.The Al Nassr attacking impetus is fizzling out in recent minutes. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Al Nassr fans are still cheering their team on but Abha has kept their most lethal weapon Cristiano Ronaldo at bay. he has had barely a sniff in this second half.
Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Ghareeb gets fed a ball from the midfield, he's one on one with the keeper. Puts his laces through the shot but excellent save by Devis Epassy.
Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Ronaldo gets a few inches near the Abha penalty area, sweeps past a defender but his shot is high and wide into the stands. Not the game he would have been hoping to have tonight.
Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Chance from the corner as Abha defends it out and falls for Gustavo who tries an acrobatic half volley but kicks thin air. Meanwhile, two players are down in the ground.
Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
we are back for the second half and al Nassr get a free kick in a good area. The ball is curled in with Ronaldo as the target but Abha defend.
PEEP! PEEP! There goes the half-time whistle and it is Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr who trail at the end of the first half. The visitors, Abha will be thrilled at how the game has panned out so far. Stay tuned for the second half. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Nassr respond with an attempt as it's Ghareeb who fires from distance but its blocked away Al-Salaiheem receives a card. Five minutes of time to be added on. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Cristiano Ronaldo has shifted position and has moved on the left wing and he does make an incisive run and sends a cross which is met by Talisca but he can't do much about it. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Yellow card for Al Nassr's Al-Khaibari after he brings down Abha centre-forward Felipe Caicedo. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
Al Nassr lose possession and Abha go on the counterattack and it is a fantastic finish. GOAAAL! It is their No. 9 Adam who finds the net. Remember Adam is on loan from Al Nassr. A brilliant pass from Saad Bguir finds Adam who slots it home. As of now, Cristiano Ronaldo's team is four points behind the leader Al Ittihad. Al Nassr 0-1 Abha
The game looking balanced at the moment with both teams looking for the goal. There have been close chances at both ends of the goal. Al Nassr in attack once again... Al Nassr 0-0 Abha
Watch: - How Ronaldo went down inside the box!
Cristiano Ronaldo on the attack, racing on and is about to take the shot but goes down after the challenge by the Iraqi internaitonal Natiq. Its a clinical tackle and he is shouting for a penalty but nothing from the ref. Over the past five mins it has been all Al Nassr with the majority of the possession. Al Nassr 0-0 Abha
Al Nassr starts the game exchanging passes and trying to find spaces in the opposing defense. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is not looking menacing at the moment. Al Nassr 0-0 Abha
Abha's goal disallowed for offside. At first it looked like it was the fault of the goalkeeper who parried the ball into the danger area in front of him but it's more the merit of the Abha player himself. Anyway its been quite a frenetic start. 5 mins gone. Al Nassr 0-0 Abha
Referee blows the whistle and we are underway and Ronaldo has a quick first touch but is whisked away by the defender. Al Nassr 0-0 Abha
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
Abha (4-3-1-2): 16-Devis Epassy (GK) — 39-Al Hamsal, 19-Attouchi, 4-Natiq, 3-Al-Zoari — 21-Al Sudani, 34-Driess Saddiki, 88-Al-Salouli — 10-Bguir — 9-Adam, 20-Felipe Caicedo
New Portugal coach Roberto Martínez included Cristiano Ronaldo in his first squad since taking over from Fernando Santos following the World Cup. The 38-year-old Ronaldo was left out of Santos’ starting lineup for Portugal’s knockout-phase games at the tournament in Qatar, including the quarterfinal loss to Morocco. Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi team Al-Nassr, can add to his international record 118 goals when Portugal plays European Championship qualifiers against Liechtenstein on March 23 and at Luxembourg three days later.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored an eight goals in his nine matches so far for Al Nassr. That has also made him the club's second-highest goalscorer this season after Anderson Talisca. Will he score more tonight and break another record?
Cristiano Ronaldo storms off the pitch kicking a water bottle; Ronaldo hugs a 10-year-old boy who lost his father in the Turkey-Syria earthquake; Ronaldo makes Erik Ten Hag suffer; Ronaldo poses for selfies with the locals. It was the comeback week for Ronaldo into mainstream football consciousness. Not that the world had ever forgotten him, or his news or the reels ever stopped, but in the seven-odd days, he has been hogging unwavering attention, which in a sense defines his footballing existence.
There were other snippets and nuggets too—snatches of him rattling out Arabic; of him belting out a pre-game pep-talk; his daughter rendering an Arabic song; his club’s website is still reeling in the sudden onslaught of web-traffic. They are the perfect pair too—a nation that wants to build an image purchasing the most image-conscious living footballer. (READ MORE)
Cristiano Ronaldo signed a 2-1/2 year deal with Al Nassr. His teammate Jaloliddin Masharipov has come out and revealed how the squad reacted to the Portueguese superstar being named captain right at the start. “It’d be a little strange if the rest of the players are captaining Ronaldo,” the Uzbekistan midfielder told Sports.ru, as per Daily Express. “We expected it. Our former captain willingly handed over the armband [to Cristiano Ronaldo] without any problems. I think this is the best solution. It cannot be otherwise.”
Al Nassr have been the better of the two teams and have won five out of the last nine matches played between the two teams.
Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr are set to battle Abha in their Saudi Pro League fixture on Saturday night. Coming with 3-1 win over the same opposition in the Kings Cup, Ronaldo's team will look seal the deal in this contest. Stay tuned for live updates.