RIYADH: It was far from a comfortable night for Al-Nassr as they came up against an Al-Taawoun side that has been one of the surprise packages of the season under Pericles Chamusca. Ultimately, an own goal by Mohammed Al-Dossary proved enough to secure all three points for the hosts.
Al-Nassr started off in blistering fashion. Less than two minutes after kick-off, Cristiano Ronaldo rattled the crossbar with a volley after he was picked out by a long ball from Mohamed Simakan.
Moments later, the roles were reversed. Ronaldo delivered a floated free-kick over the back line, finding Simakan, who headed past Mailson, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag with the French defender marginally offside.
Fresh off leading Senegal to AFCON 2025 glory, Sadio Mané returned to the starting XI and immediately caused problems down the left flank. His combination play proved key, with a threaded pass in the 25th minute setting up Ronaldo for a dangerous chance that Mailson did well to beat away.
Mailson continued to frustrate the Al-Nassr attack, producing a fingertip save to deny Mané in the 43rd minute, after a moment of brilliance from Ronaldo down the left.
Mané finally found the breakthrough on the cusp of half-time, with a dipping cross aimed towards Ronaldo misdirected into Al-Taawoun’s net by Mohammed Al-Dossary.
The second half saw Al-Nassr push further in search of a second goal. A series of chances from João Félix, Ronaldo and Mané were stopped by the Al-Taawoun defence, with Mané also striking the post in the 58th minute.
Ronaldo thought that he had won a penalty after being brought down by Waleed Al-Ahmed in the 62nd minute, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside.
Despite being 1-0 down and facing the risk of slipping five points behind second place, Al-Taawoun showed little attacking intent, registering just three shots across the 90 minutes.
Al-Nassr remained on the front foot but were unable to find a second goal, as Mailson produced one of his best showings this season, making nine saves on the night.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad edged a 2-1 victory against 17th-placed Al-Okhdood in Jeddah following a dominant first-half display. Houssem Aouar netted the opener for the hosts before N’Golo Kanté powered in a second.
Burak İnce pulled one back for the visitors in the 59th minute as Al-Okhdood capitalised on Al-Ittihad’s relatively sluggish second half showing.
In Qassim, Al-Hazem pulled off a late 2-1 comeback against Damac to move further away from the relegation zone. The result lifts them into 11th place on 20 points as Damac remain 15th with just 11.
Matchday 19 gets underway on Tuesday, with Al-Ahli facing a stern test in Al-Ettifaq as they continue their pursuit of league leaders Al-Hilal. On Wednesday, Al-Hilal travel to Dammam, faced with the task of an in-form Al-Qadsiah side led by Brendan Rodgers.
