Cristiano Ronaldo blanks as Al Nassr stumble, Gabriel Martinelli and Ollie Watkins deliver for Al Hilal
Al Nassr dropped crucial points in the defence of their Saudi Pro League title as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Al Khaleej on Saturday night. Omar Mascarell gave the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time and the champions needed a 72nd-minute goal from Abdullah Al Hamdan to salvage a point. Cristiano Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes but could not add to his career tally of 979…
Al Nassr suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw against Al Khaleej, missing out on crucial points as they fought for their Saudi Pro League title. Omar Mascarell opened the scoring for Al Khaleej just before halftime, and Abdullah Al Hamdan equalised for the champions in the 72nd minute. Despite playing the full 90 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to add to his career goal tally as he nears the milestone of 1,000 goals.
Al Nassr manager Ange Postecoglou acknowledged the challenging match, attributing their difficulty to fixture congestion due to the early stages of the Asian Cup. Postecoglou mentioned that many teams are feeling the strain, with Al Hilal also losing to Neom recently.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal secured a convincing 6-0 victory over Al Taawoun, with new signings Gabriel Martinelli and Ollie Watkins playing pivotal roles. Martinelli scored a hat-trick, marking a strong performance for Al Hilal as they bounced back from a surprise 2-0 defeat to Neom. Al Hilal's new trio of Premier League players, including Crysencio Summerville and Watkins, also contributed to the win, which propelled them back to the top of the SPL table with 18 points, one ahead of Al Ittihad and two ahead of Al Nassr. Al Hilal will host Al Gharafa in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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