Al Nassr vs Al Shabab score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo scores two penalties in Saudi League win

Kyle Bonn

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Al Nassr vs Al Shabab score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo scores two penalties in Saudi League win image

The Saudi Pro League may have experienced a sharp increase in the overall star power this summer, but there's still one man who stands above all the rest — Cristiano Ronaldo.

Al Nassr's Portuguese superstar scored two penalties and could have had more as he led his club to a 4-0 thrashing of Al Shabab on Tuesday, its second straight dominating victory.

The Saudi club fell to defeat in its first two league matches of the season, putting Ronaldo and company in an early hole in the title race, but since, they've scored nine goals and conceded none across their last two matches. Ronaldo has scored five of those goals, following up his hat-trick against Al Fateh last time out with a brace here at home.

Sadio Mane scored one and Sultan Al Ghanam bagged the other to finish off the scoreline for Al Nassr. Al Shabab, meanwhile, finished the game with 10 men as Ever Banega was sent off for a terrible tackle and will be facing a ban in the near future.

The Sporting News is following the Al Nassr versus Al Shabab match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

MORE: Tracking the goals Cristiano Ronaldo has scored for Al Nassr this season

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab live score

  Final Goal scorers
Al Nassr 4 Ronaldo (12', 40'),
Mane (41'),
Al Ghanam (80')
Al Shabab 0 –

Starting lineups:

Al Nassr (4-3-3, right to left): 44. Alaqidi (GK) — 2. S. Al Ghanam (Boushal, 81'), 4. Fatil, 27. Laporte (M. Ali, 81', 13. Konan — 17. Alkhaibari, 25. Otavio (Al Nemer, 85'), 77. Brozovic — 10. Mane (K. Al Ghannam, 81'), 7. Ronaldo (Al Sulaiheem, 85'), 29. Ghareeb

Al Shabab (4-5-1, right to left): 18. Kim (GK) — 27. Sagourq, 4. Santos, 88. Al Sharari (Sharahili, 66'), 16. Al Sibyani — 90. Al Muwallad (Kanabah, 66'), 15. Al Monassar, 6. Cuellar, 10. Banega, 11. Bahbri (Harbush, 88') — 20. Diallo (Al Jawaey, 88')

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: Al Nassr 4-0 Al Shabab

Nine goals in two games for Al Nassr put them on six points for the young season, as they look to make up ground in the Saudi Pro League title race.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot, but just came up short of a hat-trick on a few occasions. Al Nassr fully deserved their victory, as Al Shabab never threatened the opposition back line once. Marcelo Brozovic was a machine in midfield, and Ronaldo was dangerous throughout.

Eventually, Al Shabab completely lost their cool, fouling Sadio Mane repeatedly until it boiled over and Ever Banega was sent off for a truly hideous tackle. A comprehensive performance by the hosts.

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab: Second Half

90+3 min: Referee Ismael Elfath has pointed to the penalty spot for Al Nassr! There's a challenge outside the 18-yard box by Fawaz Al Sagourq, but as he goes to ground he grabs hold of the ball just inside the top corner of the penalty area.

But wait! He backtracks on his decision, and gives it as a foul just inches outside the penalty area! The set-piece comes to nothing for the hosts.

85th min: Cristiano Ronaldo won't get his hat-trick, as Jorge Jesus protects his star for the final five minutes. Otavio is also replaced by Meshari Al Nemer who makes his first appearance of the season for Al Nassr.

Al Shabab bring two new players on as well, with Mohammed Harbush and Abdullah Al Jawaey coming on.

81st min: The goal will be Sultan Al Ghanam's last action of the game, as he's withdrawn in a triple change by Jorge Jesus who also yanks Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte. It's smart to pull Mane off, as he not only is on a yellow card but was the target of a few late tackles.

80th min: GOAL! AL NASSR! It's a fourth, and Sultan Al Ghanam finds the goal! Cristiano Ronaldo nearly scores a stunning off-balance header for his hat-trick, but he hits the woodwork. Al Ghanam collects the rebound and deposits it inside his near post to complete the move.

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76th min: RED CARD, AL SHABAB! There's more handbags as Hattan Bahbri is clattered by Ever Banega, who scissors the Al Nassr forward after being nutmegged, and earns a booking. Al Shabab have been targeting Mane this half after the scuffle before halftime.

In the aftermath, Ever Banega is shown a yellow card for a push on an Al Nassr player. But there's a VAR review, and Banega is subsequently sent off for an absolutely awful tackle right after the foul on Mane, which was only spotted on review. He goes in studs up high on Sultan Al Ghanam, a truly terrible tackle. VAR gets this one spot on, helping out referee Ismael Elfath who was focused on the initial yellow card tackle and unable to see the Banega challenge.

71st min: We've reached our second half hydration break. It's been rapid since the break, but Al Shabab are making far too many mistakes to get back into this one.

68th min: Chance, Al Shabab! Hamid Diallo is stymied twice, first by the post, and then by Nawaf Alaqidi! The flag went up on the initial delivery, so it wouldn't have counted anyways. Their best chance of the game!

67th min: Chance, Al Nassr! Cristiano Ronaldo has the ball in the net for his hat-trick, but the flag goes up! It's the right call, Otavio's miles offside on the initial feed.

65th min: Sadio Mane hits the post with a shot, but the flag goes up on the original ball to Cristiano Ronaldo, the right decision coming just over the midway line.

62nd min: PENALTY, AL NASSR! The third spot-kick of the match, and this one's the right decision! Marcelo Brozovic is running the midfield, and he finds Otavio at the top of the penalty area for a shot. 

Wow, Cristiano Ronaldo isn't going to take the penalty and get his hat-trick! Sadio Mane has the ball, and he hands it off to Abdulrahman Ghareeb. The Al Nassr winger steps up...HE HITS THE POST! He can't find the net! The rebound comes right back to Ghareeb, and the whistle blows because he can't touch the ball again if the goalkeeper doesn't!

60th min: Chance, Al Nassr! CRISTIANO RONALDO CLOSE TO A STUNNER! Oh that's not far off at all! Sadio Mane takes advantage of a poor tackle on the touchline and takes the space that opens up, and he switches to Ronaldo on the opposite flank. Ronaldo goes for the one-touch finish, blasting a howitzer that was seeking the top-right corner from a solid distance, but just flies agonizingly wide. Not far!

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59th min: Al Nassr again test Seung-Gyu Kim who keeps out a speculative effort from Abdulrahman Ghareeb, although the save is awkward.

55th min: Chance, Al Nassr! Ever Banega has a few really bad giveaways in a row, and his latest sees Cristiano Ronaldo clean through on goal, but the flag is up for offside as Ronaldo blasts one right at Seung-Gyu Kim on the volley.

49th min: Chance, Al Nassr! The hosts are comfortable to let Al Shabab possess the ball and pick their spots, and that they do as Sultan Al Ghanam bursts forward takes a shot. It forces Seung-Gyu Kim into an awkward but acrobatic save, over-diving too far and having to reach back for the eventual punch.

Kickoff: The teams are back out on the pitch and the match is back under way. Al Nassr are in control of this match, and while Al Shabab had some decent moments, they're clearly second best right now and will need big improvements.

No changes made for either side.

HALFTIME: Al Nassr 3-0 Al Shabab

Al Shabab have a few quality moments in first-half stoppage time, but they have too few players forward and can't quite create any real dangerous moments.

It was a truly odd first half, but Al Nassr undoubtedly deserve their lead. It was a tragically poor first 45 minutes from the American officiating crew, with both referee Ismael Elfath and VAR official Allen Chapman making wrong decision after wrong decision. The opening goal came off a dreadful penalty awarded on VAR, and then Cristiano Ronaldo had a goal disallowed minutes later on an equally bad VAR review.

Then, Ronaldo won a dubious penalty with very little contact. As the cherry on top, Sadio Mane probably should have been sent off as well for his coming-together with Iago Santos, but remains on the pitch. Altogether, however, Cristiano Ronaldo has a brace from the spot, and Mane is on the scoresheet as well. A long way back for Al Shabab.

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab: First Half

43rd min: Fight!! It's all kicking off! Sadio Mane and Iago Santos have come together and ignited their tempers! Mane gives Santos a bit of a push after the ball had gone, but there's not much in it. When Santos expressed his displeasure, Mane did not back down and instead threw what could be considered a punch, or at very least an open hand, straight into the face of the Al Shabab defender.

Both end up with yellow cards, and Mane will consider himself lucky to remain on the pitch. Six added minutes are shown, as there have been a number of stoppages throughout the first half.

40th min: GOAL! AL NASSR! Cristiano Ronaldo turns creator, and his vertical delivery to Sadio Mane opens up space for the former Liverpool man. Then Mane produces a brilliant finish, sliding to meet the ball but remaining in control as he clips it inside Seung-Gyu Kim's near post. The hosts are running away with it!

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36th min: PENALTY, AL NASSR! Cristiano Ronaldo has earned another penalty! It's soft from the officiating crew again, but there is a slight shove from Gustavo Cuellar in the back of Ronaldo, who goes down very easily and secures the call.

CR7 steps up to get his brace, and he blasts his penalty into the same spot as before! GOAL! AL NASSR! Seung-Gyu Kim waits too long before committing, and can't reach the blasted hit.

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33rd min: After the match restarts, Al Shabab earn another booking as Nader Al Sharari is cautioned for a dragback on Cristiano Ronaldo.

30th min: The cooling break arrives, and Cristiano Ronaldo is still showing clear frustration over his disallowed goal. He scrunches his face in a conversation with his head coach Jorge Jesus.

He then has another animated conversation with referee Ismael Elfath, and it's easy to make out his argument by his body language. He is arguing — correctly — that he wasn't pushing his defender as much as simply extending his arms to create space. He's right, and the officiating crew is wrong. He's got to get on with it, though.

28th min: It's been a bit cagey since the disallowed goal, but Ever Banega has been feisty in the middle for Al Shabab. He nearly feeds an attacker through again, but it's picked out at the death.

There's the first yellow card of the match as Hussain Alsebyani goes flying into a tackle, and while he gets a tiny touch on the ball, he also sends Otavio flying through the air. It's a nightmare tackle, and by the way Ismael Elfath emphatically showed the yellow card, it probably was close to drawing worse punishment.

18th min: Chance, Al Nassr! Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his second goal! This one's a classic open-play goal from CR7! On a corner, Cristiano Ronaldo rises high to meet it, and heads home into the opposite top corner. It's shambolic from an Al Shabab perspective, as Ronaldo had two men marking him, and both collided and tripped each other, leaving the Al Nassr striker all alone.

Hang on now...Ismael Elfath is heading to the monitor again, and it looks like he's going to review this for a foul on Ronaldo. He pushes his defender into the other to cause the collision. To be honest, it's another laughable decision, and Ronaldo is FURIOUS with the call, requiring a chat from Elfath to calm him down. There's not enough in that for the review and call!

Two VAR decisions, and neither is convincing. One went Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr's way, the other went against them. Cancels out in the end!

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11th min: PENALTY, AL NASSR! Well how about this...Ismael Elfath is going to the monitor to review a handball call, sent to the screen by fellow American Allen Chapman on VAR. It's given as a PENALTY to Al Nassr! That's really terrible, in all honesty, as the arm of the leaping defender Hattan Bahbri is down by his side, and the cross clatters into it with no intent whatsoever.

Cristiano Ronaldo steps up and...SCORES! GOAL, AL NASSR! He sends Kim the wrong way!

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10th min: Chance, Al Nassr! Marcelo Brozovic has a rip from distance, and it forces Seung-Gyu Kim into a diving save! It's a low, driven effort and it requires a diving stop by Kim who goes down to his right to parry it away.

9th min: A huge switch for Al Nassr unlocks the Al Shabab defence, and it allows Abdulrahman Ghareeb to send a vicious cross to the near post for a streaking Otavio, but it's just out of his reach. It goes out for a corner, but Marcelo Brozovic's delivery is poor.

6th min: Chance, Al Shabab! Visiting defensive midfielder Gustavo Cuellar goes on a bursting run and feeds a vertical through ball for Habib Diallo, sending him through on goal, but the flag is up for offside. A good counter!

4th min: Al Nassr have the first corner of the match as Sultan Al Ghanam bombs forward from his right-back position. Al Shabab have not backed down from this encounter, but Al Nassr have had the majority of the attacking possession early. Cristiano Ronaldo delights the crowd with a few trademark stepovers but his floated ball into the mixer goes to nobody.

Al Nassr fans are up for this game, and have created quite the atmosphere!

Kickoff: The match is under way from King Saud University! The referee is American official Ismael Elfath, who is a regular in Major League Soccer as well as CONCACAF competitions, and was selected to officiate World Cup games at the recent tournament in Qatar.

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

5 mins to kickoff: The match is starting on time, but there were apparently a pretty incredible hiccup for the visitors, as their bus was reportedly stolen!

15 mins to kickoff: Last time these two teams matched up, they played to a scoreless draw in the Arab Club Champions Cup group stage. But when they met in league play last, back in May, it was a thriller, as Al Shabab took a 2-0 lead before Al Nassr fought back for a 3-2 win. Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the winner in the 59th minute.

30 mins to kickoff: There has been speculation over the potential addition of Mohamed Salah to the Saudi League. Could he join his former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane at Al Nassr?

45 mins to kickoff: We now have the Al Shabab lineup as well, and it's also largely as expected. They make just one change from the XI which drew with Damac at home last time out, with Fahad Al Muwallad coming in for Turki Al Ammar on the right flank.

Ever Banega captains the side with Habib Diallo up front looking for his first Saudi Pro League goal.

1 hour to kickoff: The Al Nassr lineup is out, and Anderson Talisca remains sidelined, with Abdulrahman Ghareeb continuing in his stead. No changes in the XI from the 5-0 drubbing of Al Fateh.

1 hour 15 mins to kickoff: Al Nassr are home tonight, but they'll be wearing their away kit for the first time this season.

1 hour 30 mins to kickoff: It's unknown whether injured Anderson Talisca will be available for this match, but Abdulrahman Ghareeb has done his best to fill the role out wide left alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane. Ghareeb was poor in the first two matches of the season, but he exploded to life against Al Fateh, picking up two assists and securing a spot in the league's Team of the Week.

The 26-year-old, who has 16 caps for Saudi Arabia, will be an important player until Talisca returns.

1 hour 45 mins to kickoff: One player who was key to reviving Al Nassr after a slow start was Otavio, the club's new No. 10 signed from Porto. He made his Al Nassr debut last time out against Al Fateh and was electric, helping bring opponents into the attack.

Otavio didn't get a goal or an assist for his efforts, but he created four chances and picked up four shots too, helping bring Abdulrahman Ghareeb into play, who picked up two assists.

2 hours to kickoff: Anderson Talisca has been heavily linked with a move to Galatasaray, largely due to the restriction on foreign players instituted by the AFC Champions League, which limits rosters to nine players from abroad. Yet the Brazilian told fans not to believe "fake news" and that he's extremely happy in Saudi Arabia.

"Al Nassr fans, you who love this club, stop supporting it; fake news. I renewed until 2026, there's no reason for me to leave the club," Talisca wrote on Twitter.

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab lineups & team news

The biggest issue for Al Nassr heading into this game is the availability of Anderson Talisca who has not been fit to play in either of their last two matches. He did, however, reassure fans that he won't be leaving, meaning he'll be sticking around despite transfer speculation.

New defender Aymeric Laporte made his Saudi Pro League debut last time out, sliding straight into the starting lineup and helping keep a clean sheet. Goalkeeper David Ospina has been out since January with a bad elbow injury, but has returned to training and could make his way back soon.

Al Nassr starting lineup (4-3-3): Alaqidi (GK) — Ghanam, Fatil, Laporte, Konan — Alkhaibari, Otavio, Brozovic — Mane, Ronaldo, Ghareeb.

Al Nassr subs (9): W. Abdullah (GK), Boushal, Qassem, Al Sulaihem, Mukhtar, Al Najei, Khalid, Alhassan, Alnemer.

The most recognizable name on the Al Shabab roster is 35-year-old Argentine midfielder Ever Banega who has been with the club since 2020 and wears the captain's armband. They signed Senegal international Habib Diallo in the summer transfer window, joining from French side Strasbourg. He has yet to score for the club.

Al Shabab starting lineup (4-5-1): Kim (GK) — Sagourq, Santos, Sharari, Alsebyani — Al Muwallad, Monassar, Cuellar, Banega, Bahbri — Diallo.

Al Shabab subs (9): Al Qarni (GK), Harbush, Al Asiri, Al Bishi, Al Joui, Kanabah, Al Muwallad, Sharahili, Al Saadi.

How to watch Al Nassr vs Al Shabab

  Date Time TV Channel Streaming
UK Tue, Aug. 29 7 p.m. BST  — DAZN
USA Tue, Aug. 29 2 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2, FOX Deportes Fubo, Fox Sports app/website
Australia Wed, Aug. 30 9 a.m. AEST  — 10 Play
Canada Tue, Aug. 29 2 p.m. ET  — DAZN
Hong Kong Wed, Aug. 30 2 a.m. HKT  — Shahid
India Tue, Aug. 29 11:30 p.m. IST Sony TEN 1 Sony LIV, JioTV
Malaysia Wed, Aug. 30 2 a.m. MYT  — Shahid
New Zealand Wed, Aug. 30 11 a.m. NZST  — Shahid
Singapore Wed, Aug. 30 2 a.m. SST  — Shahid

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab betting odds

Al Nassr are the heavy favourites after finally righting the ship last time out, clobbering Al Fateh 5-0 thanks to a Ronaldo hat-trick.

Goals are expected to flow here, given Al Nassr's capabilities in front of net, and Al Shabab's ability to do the same. Al Shabab have both scored and conceded in every game thus far into the short season.

  Al Nassr
win		 Draw Al Shabab
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
3.5 goals
BetMGM
(USA)		 -450 +550 +1000 -110 / -125 +105 / -145
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 -530 +462 +900 — +109 / -149
SkyBet
(UK)		 15/8 23/10 13/10 5/6, 5/6 11/10, 4/6
Dafabet
(India)		 1.23 6.60 11.00 1.98 / 1.81 2.13 / 1.76

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.