Al-Nassr 2:1 Abha
Al-Nassr took three points off Abha at Al-Awwal Park Stadium, winning 2:1 in the Pro League's sixth round on Tuesday evening. The hosts had lost to Al-Ittihad 2:1 in their previous outing, while Abha were still searching for a victory after four defeats and a draw. And here's the thing — the result keeps Al-Nassr mid-table and extends Abha's winless run.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the twenty-second minute, a moment that came before the game settled into its rhythm. Abha equalised through Abdullah Al-Hamdan in the fifty-eighth, and for a spell the visitors looked comfortable on the counter. Bader Al Mutairi picked up a yellow card in the sixty-third as tensions rose. To be fair — Abha had the structure to trouble Al-Nassr when they did not need to push forward.
Nabil Fekir turned the match with a goal in the seventy-fifth minute, and that was the moment things came to a head. Abha made two substitutions in the seventy-sixth, trying to find an equaliser, but Al-Nassr held firm. The hosts brought on Abdullah Al Fahad and Firas Al-Ghamdi in the eighty-fifth, closing out the result. By then — the game had been decided.
The statistics tell the story of control. Al-Nassr had 67 per cent possession, 101 attacks to Abha's 51, and 1.16 expected goals against 0.26. They created three big chances while the visitors managed none. Six shots on target from Al-Nassr produced two goals, while Abha hit the frame twice from three attempts. The hosts worked a short corner and moved the ball into the final third 165 times.
Al-Nassr sit fourth with twelve points from five games, four wins and one defeat. Abha remain eighteenth with a single point from five matches, one draw and four losses. The hosts had lost 1:2 to Al-Ittihad last time out, but this result showed they could recover when the game tightened. The visitors have now gone five games without a victory, and the gap to safety continues to widen.
