Al-Ittihad 0-2 Al-Nassr: Report, result and goals as Mane and Ronaldo see off champions

[ad_1] Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo had been on course as Al-Nassr struck an early blow within the Saudi Professional League title race with a deserved 2-0 win at Al-Ittihad.

Defending champions Al-Ittihad beat Al-Nassr residence and away final season and obtained the higher of Al-Nassr within the Saudi Tremendous Cup ultimate.

Karim Benzema returned to the Al-Ittihad aspect after lacking three matches attributable to damage, however he couldn't encourage the hosts to victory in Jeddah.

As an alternative it was former Actual Madrid team-mate Ronaldo was left celebrating after he adopted up Mane’s beautiful ninth-minute opener with a Thirty fifth-minute header to ship Al-Nassr high of the desk.

Al-Ittihad v Al-Nassr

Amid a raucous ambiance, the sport started in frantic style, with each side failing to take advantage of promising openings.

However Mane took his first clear-cut probability in spectacular style, sustaining his composure to lash residence an excellent volley from Kingsley Coman’s right-wing cross.

Al-Nassr continued within the ascendancy after the opener, Ronaldo losing a gilt-edged probability when he headed extensive from shut vary earlier than then breaking free down the left, solely to fireplace into the side-netting.

Paulo Bento was examined by Steven Bergwijn after an Al-Ittihad break, however the guests continued to create the higher alternatives, Joao Felix blazing over from point-blank vary from Pascal Simikan’s flick-on.

However Ronaldo made no mistake when Mane lifted a wonderfully weighted left-wing cross into the field, the Portugal talisman making no mistake with a strong header past a helpless Predrag Rajkovic.

Mane was virtually the supplier for a 3rd, however Felix was once more the supplier of a obtrusive miss after extra good work from his Senegalese team-mate.

Issues obtained worse for Al-Ittihad in first-half stoppage time, with midfielder Houssem Aouar pressured off by means of damage.

Ronaldo was denied by Rajkovic shortly after the second-half restart as Al-Nassr sought to place the sport to mattress, with Coman then blazing over on the far publish earlier than Ronaldo inexplicably missed the goal with an open objective at his mercy.

But Al-Ittihad struggled to punish that profligacy, with Benzema reducing a peripheral determine till he was brilliantly thwarted by Bento following very good work on the flip from the previous France striker.

And there was to be no manner by means of for the hosts, who comfortably noticed out a victory that would and possibly ought to have been extra emphatic.