Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr suffered a massive blow to their title hopes as Al-Qadsiyah rode on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's winner to beat them 2-1.
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Al-Nassr went down at home to Al-QadsiyahRoanldo's strike not enough to save their blushesFind themselves six points behind Al-Hilal Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportTELL ME MORE
In front of a rousing home support, Stefano Pioli's men started the match on the front foot as they pinned the visitors in their own half right from the first whistle. They were raiding Al-Qadsiyah's defence with intent and purpose and it looked just a matter of time before they would convert one of their many chances. The sustained pressure finally got the better of Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels as he failed to collect a routine cross from the right flank and Ronaldo made him pay dearly by swooping down at the unexpected opportunity.
Surprisingly, the visitors found a spring in their step after falling behind and took just five minutes to find the equaliser through Julian Quinones. After Turki Al-Ammar was allowed by Sultan Al-Ghannam to float in a cross at the far post, Nawaf Boushal made the second defensive error by failing to judge the flight, giving Quinones ample space and time to cushion the ball down and fire in a shot beyond the reach of Bento.
The visitors continued to dominate after the break and just five minutes after the resumption they got their noses in front through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Boushal was once again caught napping and Quinones set up the former Arsenal man on a platter who made no mistake to head home into a gaping goal. Even after taking the lead, Al-Qadsiyah did not draw themselves back into the shell and had opportunities to increase their lead further.
Al-Nassr looked flat and did not have the spark going forward which would have rescued a point. The absence of Talisca was glaring as they missed his runs behind the defence and the chemistry that he shares with Ronaldo. The Portuguese also had a rather anonymous evening, as apart from scoring the opener, he hardly had an impact on the match which would have prevented his team from suffering the first league defeat of the season.
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Al-Qadisyah striker Quinones stole the spotlight with a goal and an assist. The Colombian was present at the right place at the right time during the first goal while his acrobatic assist to Aubameyang was one for the highlight reels.
THE BIG LOSER
Al-Nassr defender, Boushal must shoulder the responsibility for the defeat. The right-back was poor at judging both crosses, which led to goals, and hardly made his presence felt going forward with his overlaps. An evening to forget!
AFPWHAT COMES NEXT?
After a setback in the domestic competition, that saw them slip six points behind leaders Al-Hilal, Ronaldo & Co. will be back in action against Al-Gharafa in the AFC Champions League next Monday away from home.