RIYADH: The energy at Al-Awwal Park was noticeably lower than usual on Wednesday, when Al-Nassr hosted Abha on Matchday 6 of the Saudi Pro League. Still reeling from a 2-1 defeat to Al-Ittihad in Jeddah on Saturday, the hosts needed a convincing victory against a winless Abha to restore fan morale.
While the victory came, Abha did not make it easy. Al-Nassr were missing several key players from their lineup, with Joao Felix out through suspension, Kingsley Coman sidelined through injury and Ange Postecoglou resting Abdulelah Al-Amri.
With Abdullah Al-Hamddan partnering Ronaldo up front and Angelo dropping to the right of midfield, Abha head coach Damir Buric set his team up in a deep 5-4-1 in search of an unlikely result. Captain Abdullah Al-Fahad alternated between a center-back role and a defensive midfield position depending on how far Abha pushed up the pitch, tasked with keeping a close eye on Ronaldo.
That strategy came undone in the 22nd minute when Abha conceded a corner. Angelo delivered an inswinger toward the box and Ronaldo leapt to power a header toward the far corner. The ball struck the post before bouncing past Donovan Leon and into the net.
Abha responded with their best attacking spell immediately after, taking advantage of the post-goal lull to push forward on the counter. In the 23rd minute, Michy Batshuayi released Alimami Gory in behind, sending him clear before the striker struck the post with his effort.
Three minutes later, Batshuayi broke in behind the defensive line after a precise through ball from center-back Abdulbasit Hindi — but Mohamed Simakan recovered in time to dispossess him, and the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
Ronaldo went close to his 980th career goal before half-time when, in the 38th minute, he received the ball with his back to goal, turned and fired — only for his effort to strike the post. The following minute, Al-Hamddan headed the ball back to him from a corner, but Ronaldo’s effort was denied by a goal-line clearance as Leon and Al-Fahad combined to keep it out.
Play remained largely under Al-Nassr’s control in the second half, with occasional Abha forays not enough to unsettle the hosts. In the 58th minute, Al-Hamddan appeared to have put the game beyond doubt with a powerful finish into the far corner — but Abha had the last say.
Nabil Fekir may not be at his physical peak, but in the 75th minute, he showed his age had done nothing to dull his instinct for the moment.
With the Frenchman lining up to take an inswinging free-kick from the left flank, he caught the Al-Nassr defense and Bento off guard, opting to shoot directly at goal rather than swing in a cross. Bento failed to keep the ball away from the goal line, as Abha pulled one back to set up a tense finale.
Abha came close to an equalizer 10 minutes later, when Simakan was pressed by Batshuayi on the touchline in his own half. The striker fended off the challenge and drove toward goal, his shot just missing the post — to the relief of the home fans.
The victory puts Al-Nassr level with Al-Hilal and Al-Qadsiah at the top of the table, with all three sides having won five of their first six fixtures this season.
Elsewhere, Al-Kholood continued their stellar start to the season, extending their unbeaten run to six games with a 2-1 victory over Al-Shabab. A late goal from Abdulrahman Al-Dosari sealed three more points for Des Buckingham’s side as they move into the top six on 12 points.
Meanwhile, Diriyah secured their third win of the season by beating winless Al-Fateh 2-1 in the Al-Hasa region. Darwin Nunez opened the scoring from the spot, before Adil Boulbina responded to Faisal Al-Abdulwahed’s equalizer at the end of the first half.
SPL action resumes on Friday for Matchday 7, with the Dammam Derby between Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ettifaq set to headline the weekend.
