The Night Belonged To Dammam
The Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, home to Al-Ettifaq, witnessed one of the finest games of the Roshn Saudi League as defending Champions Al-Nassr were greeted to a hostile reception last night.
Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifaq Were Locking Horns
Al-Nassr, at the back of two brilliant wins, wore a confident look. Cristiano Ronaldo too was starting for them, a big boost indeed. Al-Ettifaq, the hosts, also had two wins out of two, getting past Al-Riyadh and Al-Fateh with some eye-catching football. It was going to be a good contest, but it turned out to be even better and unexpected.
Al-Nassr Reduced to 10 Men inside 12 Minutes
Al-Nassr found themselves on the receiving end when Bento, their goalkeeper, was sent off in the 12th minute for a dangerous tackle on Moussa Dembele just outside the Al-Nassr box. The visitors were reduced to 10-men with 18-year-old Al-Otaibi getting into goal with Angelo moving to the bench.
Al-Ettifaq Take Advantage With Two Incredible Strikes
That incident changed the course of the game with Al-Ettifaq striking twice. In the 31st minute, Duda’s effort was deflected into the goal by an extremely nervous Al-Otaibi, and then the young rookie was found out of place by Moussa Dembele, who struck a fiery rocket from a good 25 yards to give Al-Ettifaq a 2-0 lead at the stroke of halftime.
Read on: Ange Postecoglou Makes A Perfect Al-Nassr Debut
Sadio Mane Leads Al-Nassr Fightback
The Knights of Najd were pinned down, but came back with intent in the second half. Time was running away. Two goals down with 10-men and just 17 minutes remaining on the clock, it was getting desperate for Al-Nassr. But then the cool and composed Sadio Mane took over the mantle like a beacon to guide Al-Nassr to shores of safety.
Mane & Al Amri Score in Quick Succession
Mane struck in the 74th minute with a fine pass from Joao Felix. The Portuguese once again showed his class 3 minutes later. He took the corner kick and curled it with great precision to find Al Amri, whose incredible header squared up the match and turned it on its head.
A Composed Monk Like Mane Wins It For the Champions
Al-Nassr had equalised, but wanted more; they wanted to win it, and so they did. Sadio Mane picked up a great pass from the deep, ran brilliantly to outsmart the defender and then ensured the coolest of finishes to give Al-Nassr a famous victory. It was a terrific goal from the Senegalese. His skill, technique and composure were outstanding. Sadio just played it down as if it was nothing big.
Al-Ettifaq Missed A Great Opportunity
Al-Ettifaq had missed a great opportunity in all the chaos. Al-Nassr showed great character. The Champions fought hard and refused to give up. In the end, they had all three points in the bag and a clean slate with three wins out of three, in an incredible start to their title defence.
Arthur Papas Felt The Pain As Postecoglou Rejoiced
The two Greek Managers passed through a lot of emotional turmoil right through the game. Arthur Papas, from the highs at the start of the game, suffered in the end, while Ange Postecoglou was thrilled to bits as the game came to an end.
What a match!!!