RIYADH: Is it finally Al-Nassr’s time? Eight points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League, fifteen wins on the trot, and a victory over Al-Ettifaq for the first time since September 2024. And when 71-year-old Jorge Jesus burst into dance during the post-match celebrations — a shift from his usual tense demeanor — it certainly looked that way.
After Kingsley Coman’s lone goal in Al-Nassr’s 1-0 victory over Al-Ettifaq on Matchday 29 of the Saudi Pro League, Jorge Jesus’ side now move to 76 points, eight ahead of Al-Hilal, who have a game in hand.
Prior to the international break, only seven points separated Al-Nassr from fourth-placed Al-Qadsiah. Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli were hot on their tails, but a series of dropped points by the challengers in the following weeks widened the gap. The distance has since doubled, with Al-Qadsiah now 14 points behind.
The result against Al-Ettifaq represents a massive psychological victory for the league leaders. Al-Nassr have failed to beat them in eight of their last 12 league meetings, while their head coach Saad Al-Shehri had remained undefeated against the club prior to this encounter.
Al-Ettifaq were also the first team this season to snatch points from Al-Nassr, in a thrilling 2-2 draw at EGO Stadium back in December. As such, this fixture has consistently represented a pain point on Al-Nassr’s calendar.
Despite securing the three points at Al-Awwal Park, the encounter was anything but straightforward for Al-Nassr.
Their opponents set up in their traditional 5-3-2, with South African Mohau Nkota operating as a left-wing back. His role relied on taking advantage of the space left behind Coman on counter-attacks, while also reinforcing the defensive line against Al-Nassr overloads.
In the midfield, Ondrej Duda was flanked by Alvaro Medran and Georginio Wijnaldum. In addition to protecting the heart of the pitch, they played important roles in transition.
Wijnaldum surged forward to operate as a third striker alongside Khalid Al-Ghannam and Mousa Dembele, while Medran’s passing ability formed a core part of Al-Ettifaq’s dangerous transitions.
This proved fruitful for Al-Ettifaq as a strategy, but will feel hard done after Dembele’s inability to find the net.
In the 14th minute, Nkota won the ball in Al-Nassr’s area to release Dembele in the box. A quick reaction from the Frenchman was followed by a powerful strike that drifted inches wide of the post.
Dembele’s miss at the half-hour mark was even more costly, however. It did not just prevent Al-Ettifaq from taking the lead but ultimately handed the advantage to Al-Nassr.
What initially looked like a dangerous transition for Al-Nassr saw Abdullah Al-Khaibari fail to deliver a threaded pass in time, as Al-Ettifaq cleared the danger.
That led to a counter-attack led by Al-Ghannam, whose threaded pass made it past Abdulelah Al-Amri and into the path of Dembele. Despite having a clear strike at goal, the Frenchman’s worrying run of finishing continued, as he miscalculated his effort and sent the ball wide.
What followed next was the moment that defined the game. Marcelo Brozovic found Cristiano Ronaldo just outside the area, with the space between the Al-Ettifaq defenders inviting him to shoot. That shot was parried away softly by Marek Rodak straight into the path of Coman, who dribbled past him to score into the open net.
The second half saw a fall in tempo, but Al-Nassr continued to create chances. Yet it began to resemble their narrow 1-0 victory over NEOM in March, when nothing seemed to find the back of the net for over 90 minutes.
Al-Ettifaq centre-back Jack Hendry became the talk of the second half, after his goal-line clearance from Ronaldo’s shot in the 61st minute was initially booked for handball but later deemed legal following a VAR review. He was later sent off in the final moments of the match after violent conduct against Joao Felix.
Al-Nassr’s victory pushes them closer to title glory, but their next set of games represent the only teams to have beaten them this season: a home clash against third-placed Al-Ahli, an away game at fourth-placed Al-Qadsiah and a Capital Derby against second-placed Al-Hilal.
