Sadio Mane’s outstanding brace on X helped Al-Nassr upset Al-Feiha 3-1, even without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo. The fans applauded Mane for his performance.
Due to a one-game suspension, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to play in their Saudi Pro League match on Friday, April 19, at the Al-Awwal Stadium. He was dismissed for violent behavior after their 2-1 Saudi Super Cup semifinal loss to Al-Hilal.
In the sixth minute, Fashion Sakala scored, giving Al-Feiha a startling lead. In the 42nd minute, Mane had a great chance to tie the game, but he sent his penalty kick high over the crossbar.
After regrouping in the second half, center-back Abdulelah Al-Amri scored in the 72nd minute to give Al-Nassr the reward for their domination moment. In the 76th and 82nd minutes, Mane heroically doubled his effort to make up for his earlier miss and secure all three points for his team. Sakala was substituted at the 88-minute mark.
According to FotMob, the former Liverpool player was upgraded to Player of the Match and had a match rating of 9.0. He won seven duels, created four huge chances, made 33 of his 38 passes with accuracy of 87%, and hit five shots on goal. The 32-year-old did, however, miss a penalty kick and waste four significant scoring opportunities.
Mane has now made 39 appearances this season across all competitions, tallying 17 goals and dishing out nine assists. According to a fan, AlNassr no longer needs Cristiano Ronaldo, posting:
“Sadio mane stepping up for the team”
“Sadio Mané carrying Al Nassr as usual. Too easy for this man!”
“This was the Liverpool version of Sadio Mane”, one fan claimed
“He shushed the haters fair play”, another fan posted
“Sadio Mane to his haters :”, one fan pointed out
“FT – Player Ratings – MOTM – Sadio Mane”, one fan wrote
“Sadio Mane Carrying Al nassr doesn’t get talked much about. The PR for Ronaldo isn’t even worth it, he doesn’t turn up in big games”
Even though Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t there, Al-Nassr’s assistant coach declares the team won against Al-Feiha.
After Al-Nassr defeated AlFeiha 3-1 to make it five straight Saudi Pro League victories, assistant coach Vitor Severino lauded his team. They performed well even without their captain and talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo.
At 64 percent of the game, Al-Nassr was in complete control. Additionally, they made 28 total shots, 12 of which were on target. Al-Feiha, on the other hand, managed just 36% of the play and managed just five shots, of which two were on goal.
In the post-match press conference, Severino said (via @TheNassrZone):
“Al-Nassr controlled the entire match… and always evaluated the match according to the result… and we conceded a goal at the beginning due to a wrong stance on the counter… and my message to the players at half-time was that we created many opportunities and their performance was outstanding.”
“The numbers speak. Today, we fired 28 shots at Al-Fayha’s goal and only conceded two shots on target”
On Saturday, April 27, Christiano Ronalodos Al-Nassr will return to play against AlKhaleej.
