The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, home to Al-Ittihad, was at its sparkling best. The Shining Jewel, as it is popularly known, shone brightly as the hosts and the Defending Champions welcomed arch rivals Al-Nassr from Riyadh last night.
The two teams had won their first 3 matches in the Roshn Saudi League this season, and no wonder, considering the competition between the rivals, the match was indeed a critical one, going forward into the season. It was also going to be a test for Al-Nassr Manager Jorge Jesus, his first experience of the rivalry between the two teams
Sadio Mané set the tone of the match with a screamer of a strike in the 9th minute. The volley from his left foot was nothing but a real scorcher, which travelled in the blink of an eye and disappeared into the net, before Serbian Predrag Rajkovic, Al-Ittihad’s goalkeeper, could react. The strike had brute power, timing and precision written all over it. Al-Nassr had made the first move.
Mané, once again proved his sterling worth with a fantastic assist for Cristiano Ronaldo to score. The Senegalese skipper lobbed the ball into the Al-Ittihad box for a rushing Ronaldo to head home Al-Nassr’s second goal. It was a terrific move. Ronaldo, at the edge of the box, ran through the defenders, whose eyes were locked on Mané, totally oblivious of Ronaldo’s move. By the time the defenders realised, Mané’s lob had been converted into a goal. Though it was great thinking from Ronaldo and Mané, the defending was poor from Al-Ittihad, who were guilty of allowing acres of space to Ronaldo.
With 2-0 up, Al-Nassr carried the aggression forward and came close to scoring on several occasions. Joao Felix and Ronaldo had clear chances and should have scored. Without a doubt, both stars were guilty of being wasteful. Jorge Jesus’ look clearly said it all. It could well have been a 5-0 drubbing and a mighty statement from Al-Nassr.
Al-Ittihad, on the other hand, seemed to be extremely lacklustre. They hardly created chances, and if at all they did, Bento, Al-Nassr’s goalkeeper, was up to it. The defence of the visitors was water-tight. Karim Benzema was kept completely at bay.
In the end, it was a fine win for Al-Nassr, who at the moment appear to be the best team in the Saudi League by far. With 12 points from 4 games, the Al-Alamis are well-perched at the top.
With another International break coming up, Al-Nassr would be hosting Al-Fateh at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on the 18th of October, while Al-Ittihad would be travelling to Al Majma’ah to face Al-Feiha on the 17th of October, to get the defence of their title back on rails.
It was Sadio Mané’s game to savour.
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