Al Nassr vs Al Shabab score, result as Cristiano Ronaldo nets winning goal to keep Saudi title hopes alive

Simon Borg

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Al Nassr vs Al Shabab score, result as Cristiano Ronaldo nets winning goal to keep Saudi title hopes alive image

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning goal as Al Nassr kept their title hopes alive with a dramatic 3-2 comeback win 3-2 over Al Shabab in a Riyadh derby match.

Al Nassr found themselves down 2-0 on their home turf, and it was looking like one of those nights for Ronaldo & Co. But a goal before the break ignited a second-half comeback capped by a spectacular Ronaldo goal on the hour mark to overturn the scoreline.

The result kept Al Nassr three points away from leaders Al Ittihad with two matches remaining, as Al Ittihad won their home match played at the same time, beating last-place Al Batin 1-0.

Al Nassr still need the leaders to trip up in both of their final two matches. Finishing level on points with Al Ittihad wouldn't be enough since Al Ittihad own the head-to-head tiebreaker (0-0 draw on Oct. 2 and 1-0 win on March 9). The final two rounds will see all league matches played at the same time on May 27 and May 31.

Watch the goals from the Al Nassr vs. Al Shabab match below: 

MORE: Updated Saudi Pro League table with Ronaldo & Al Nassr chasing title

Updated Saudi Pro League table

Only two matches remain in the season (30 total matches are played) with Al Ittihad needing just one more win to clinch the title given they would claim any tiebreaker over Al Nassr thanks to a win and draw in their head-to-head matches.

Pos Team Points Matches
Played		 Goals
Scored		 Goal
Diff.		 Next
Match
1. Al Ittihad 66 28 55 +42 at Al Feiha, May 27
2. Al Nassr 63 28 59 +42 at Ettifaq, May 27
3. Al Shabab 53 28 53 +24 vs. Al Taawoun, May 27

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab final score

  Final Goal scorers
Al Nassr 3 44' Talisca (Alhassan)
51' Ghareeb (Alhassan)
60' Ronaldo
Al Shabab 2 25' Guanca (pen)
40' Guanca (Santi Mina)

Lineups:

Al Nassr (4-3-3, right to left): Rossi (GK) — Al Ghanam, Lajami (Alamri 80'), Gonzalez, Konan — Alhassan (Al Najei 67), Alkhaibari (Fatil 93'), Gustavo — Talisca (Ayman 93'), Ronaldo, Ghareeb (Boushal 80').

Al Shabab (4-2-3-1, right to left): Seung-gyu (GK) — Al Sagour, Santos, Al Tambakti, Al Harbi (Alsibyani 88')— Krychowiak, Al Monassar (Al Ammar 79') — Guanca, Banega, Junior (Hattan 79') — Mina.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores winning goal in derby match

Barring an epic collapse by leaders Al Ittihad, who have only lost two matches all season, Cristiano Ronaldo will end his first season in Saudi Arabia without silverware. But he did register a highlight reel moment which Al Nassr and Ronaldo fans will surely remember fondly from this spell.

This Riyadh derby match was setting itself up to be another disjointed, nervy, and underwhelming performance by Al Nassr, as Al Shabab lit up the home team for two first-half goals through an inspired Cristian Guanca.

But an Anderson Talisca strike and a cool Abdulrahman Ghareeb finish set up this magic moment from Ronaldo, who would not be denied in the 60th minute. The goal held up as the 3-2 winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo "Saudi Pro League to be Top 5"

On the heels of a happy result for Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo did a short interview with rightsholders Saudi Sports Company (SSC) in which he predicted the Saudi Pro League would emerge as a Top 5 league in the world.

Meanwhile, the review of the match was decidedly less enthusiastic from the Al Shabab perspective.

"The second half was a disaster," Al Shabab's Grzegorz Krychowiak told SSC post-match. "We made too many mistakes, It was a very, very difficult loss, but we keep fighting till the end."

Can Al Nassr win the Saudi Pro League title?

At this point it'd be a pipe dream to somehow believe Al Ittihad will drop points from their final two matches to give Al Nassr any hope of claiming the league title. (Al Ittihad would win a tiebreaker based on head-to-head results.)

  • Matchday 29 (May 27): Al Feiha vs Al Ittihad | Ettifaq vs Al Nassr 
  • Matchday 30 (May 31): Al Ittihad vs Al Ta'ee | Al Nassr vs Al Fateh

Then again, Al Ittihad were only able to defeat the last-place team by a narrow 1-0 scoreline on Tuesday. And if Al Feiha can somehow upset the leaders on Saturday, then it would set up a nervy final day for Al Ittihad on Wednesday, May 31. 

So Al Nassr's title chase essentially rests in the hands of an Al Feiha team that is 12th in the table and battling to avoid relegation. They're unbeaten in their last three matches, but they've also lost six of seven league matches against the top four this season.

Al Feiha have faced Al Ittihad three times this campaign: a 3-0 road loss in league play (Jan. 19), a 2-0 loss in the Super Cup final (aided by a 24th minute red card), and a penalty-kick loss in a King Cup quarterfinal that ended 1-1. That most recent result offers a glimmer of hope to Al Nassr. 

Of course, Ronaldo and Al Nassr still have to win their two remaining matches (at 10th-place Ettifaq and at home to 6th-place Al Fateh).

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab live updates, highlights from Saudi Pro League

Full-time: Al Nassr 3-2 Al Shabab

Full-time: How did that happen? Al Nassr looked to be down and out after a Cristian Guanca brace gave visiting Al Shabab a 2-0 lead.

Al Nassr's response amounted to hopeful balls into the box, which Al Shabab dealt with. But for as disjointed as Al Nassr's movements looked, their attacking talent is such that the forwards can singlehandedly decide a match. That's what happened here with Al Nassr's front three all getting goals on fantastic solo efforts with Ronaldo's strike taking the prize for most spectacular.

An Al Nassr loss would have led to title celebrations in Jeddah for Al Ittihad, who won 1-0 at home in a match played concurrently. But the Al Nassr comeback victory will keep the champagne on ice and ensure the title won't be decided until sometime in the final two matchdays.

90th min.: Six minutes of stoppage time. Ronaldo takes a shot on a transition, but it's going to be Al Shabab pushing the rest of the way. Al Nassr are holding up well so far. Two more Al Nassr subs coming to kill time.

80th min.: SUBS. Both teams bring in two new players. Al Nassr bring in a fresh centre-back (Alamri) and a replacement for the hobbling Ghareeb (Boushal). Al Shabab opt for two attacking players.

79th min.: Chance Al Shabab! What a chance it was. Carlos Junior, fed by Cristian Guanca (of course), goes for placement and just misses the base of the right post!

72nd min.: YELLOW cards. Ever Banega (Al Shabab) and Sami Al Najei (Al Nassr) get one for separate incidents. The stoppages have slowed down the pace of the game some. But it's now all Al Shabab who are pushing with some urgency.

67th min.: SUB Al Nassr. Sami Al Najei is in and he should help keep some possession and ease some of the Al Shabab pressure. Al Nassr are now sitting back and resorting to the counter. This might not be the best strategy given how shaky the backline has been.

60th min.: Goal Al Nassr! It's Cristiano Ronaldo! He shrugs off a defender and then takes on another, but he has enough room to find the top right corner. And the comeback is complete. Al Nassr lead 3-2!

59th min.: Yellow card to Al Shabab. It's Carlos Junior who gets it for a late challenge. It's a good decision by the Italian referee.

51st min.: Goal Al Nassr! Abdulrahman Ghareeb gets it! He's unmarked in the box, collects the cross from the right, and merely turns and shoots for the easy finish. It's 2-2 in Riyadh!

48th min.: Chance Al Nassr! Talisca has a good look, but he skies it. He had enough space and time to at least get it on target.

46th min.: Second half is underway. We'll see if Al Nassr can come back against the third-best team in Saudi Arabia.

Half-Time: Al Nassr 1-2 Al Shabab

Half-time: That was some good action and drama from the first half and we're going to get more of it after the break with Al Nassr playing to keep their title dreams alive.

If results hold with Al Ittihad winning 1-0 at half-time of their game, the gap would be six points with two matches remaining in the season (30 matches). At that point, Al Nassr would need Al Ittihad to drop points in their final two matches. The only problem with that is that Al Ittihad have only lost two matches all season.

Pos Team Points Matches
Played		 Goals
Scored		 Goal
Difference		 Next
Match
1. Al Ittihad 66 28 55 +42 at Al Feiha, May 27
2. Al Nassr 60 28 57 +40 at Ettifaq, May 27
3. Al Shabab 56 28 53 +26 vs. Al Taawoun, May 27

46th min.: Dust-up between the rivals! Santi Mina involved in a challenge along the sideline and he knocks the ball out of the hands of Al Nassr's right-back who was going to take a throw-in. Then Al Nassr defender Lajami confronts Mina in front of the Al Nassr bench.

The teams come together and referee Daniele Orsato issues a yellow card to each team to calm the derby tempers. Santi Mina and Lajami go into the ref's book.

44th min.: Goal Al Nassr! Anderson Talisca responds with a fantastic first-time strike from inside the box that went around the defender and into the side netting. Al Nassr are back in it.

40th min.: Goal Al Shabab! What a rip from Cristian Guanca for his second of the match. It was a give-and-go with two teammates, the last of which with centre-forward Santi Mina. And then Guanca had himself a rip from the top of the box. No chance that was being saved.

37th min.: Double yellow card! Both to Al Nassr players Alvaro Gonzalez and Luiz Gustavo for arguing with the referee. And if your veteran players are already frustrated at the referee, it doesn't bode well. The referee has not been the problem thus far.

33rd min.: Ronaldo hits the crossbar! He rises up to head a cross from the left, but his effort skims the top of the crossbar. And his hands go in the air. It's looking like another one of those nights for CR7.

30th min.: Al Nassr are simply not sharp and the ideas are not clear up top. Al Shabab's defenders are handling every ball whipped into the box. It's looking like the home team is going to have a hard time scoring today.

25th min.: Goal Al Shabab! Cristian Guanca converts the penalty for his 12th goal of the season. Al Nassr's Argentine goalkeeper Agustin Rossi guessed right and got a hand to the ball, but not enough to keep it out.

23rd min.: Penalty Al Shabab! A corner kick flighted in finds the arm of Al Nassr's Luiz Gustavo, whose hands were in an incriminating position. Daniele Orsato goes to the VAR monitor and points to the spot!

19th min.: Penalty Al Nassr? Ghareeb and Ronaldo go down in the Al Shabab box looking for a penalty call, but referee Orsato is not going for either. They both looked like the players went down way too easily.

13th min.: Bad news for Al Nassr. League leaders Al Ittihad are already ahead against last-place Al Batin with a goal from Romarinho.

10th min.: Al Nassr enjoyed a brief attacking spell with Ronaldo as the catalyst. His cross from the left side led to the first of a couple of corner kicks, but Al Nassr could not get a proper shot off.

5th min.: It's been all Al Shabab so far, and Al Nassr goalkeeper Agustin Rossi has been called into action already. Carlos Junior on the left and Cristian Guanca on the right are active early.

KICKOFF: Al Shabab kick off. The visitors in white and Al Nassr in their yellow kits.

2 mins to KO: Italian Daniele Orsato is the head referee for this match, with the Saudi Pro League bringing in high-level international officials for league matches.

5 mins to KO: Teams are out on the field and kickoff nears.

1 hour to KO: Lineups are out

1 hour 30 mins to KO: It's not exactly the kind of news that Al Nassr supporters want to see leaking out on the day of a big match, but a report from Spain's Mundo Deportivo claims that Cristiano Ronaldo intends on leaving Al Nassr and returning to Europe.

2 hours to KO: Ever Banega probably remembers playing against Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga. Question is whether Ronaldo remembers Banega.

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab lineups

Al Nassr manager Dinko Jelicic sticks with the three central midfielders, which have seemed to bring a bit more balance to Al Nassr's lineup, connecting the attackers with the backline. Nothing changes up top, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca expected to provide the goalscoring. No Abdulmajeed Alsulaihem or Jaloliddin Masharipov for this match.

Al Nassr starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 22-Agustin Rossi (GK) — 2-Sultan Al-Ghanam, 78-Ali Lajami, 21-Alvaro Gonzalez, 13-Ghislain Konan — 19-Ali Alhassan, 17-Abdullah Alkhaibari, 18-Luiz Gustavo— 94-Talisca, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo, 29-Abdulrahman Ghareeb

Al Nassr subs (9): 33-Waleed Abdullah (GK), 4-Mohammed Al-Fatil, 3-Abdullah Madu, 5-Abdulelah Alamri, 27-Majed Mohammed Qasheesh,  12-Nawaf Boushal, 23-Ayman Yahya, 14-Sami Al Najei, 16-Mohammed Maran

Coached by former Espanyol manager Vicente Moreno, Al Shabab count on two Argentine midfielders as difference-makers. The experienced Ever Banega brings order and quality, while compatriot Cristian Guanca delivers the goals (11) and attacking threat. 

Al Shabab starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 18-Kim Seung-gyu (GK) — 27-Fawaz Al Sagour, 4-Iago Santos, 5-Hassan Al Tambakti, 24-Moteb Al Harbi — 23-Grzegorz Krychowiak, 15-Husain Alqahtani Monassar — 8-Cristian Guanca, 10-Ever Banega, 13-Carlos Junior — 77-Santi Mina

Al Shabab subs (9): 35-Hussein Shaian (GK), 88-Nader Al Sharari, 16-Husain Alsibyani, 12-Khaled Al Ghamdi, 89-Riyadh Sharahili, 6-Majed Kanabah, 11-Hattan Bahebri, 71-Ahmed Abdu, 7-Turki Al Ammar

MORE: Saudi Pro League top scorers 2022/23: Ronaldo chasing Golden Boot

Al Nassr vs Al Shabab live stream, TV channel

Fans in Australia can stream this match on 10 Play, while viewers from around the world can subscribe to streaming platform Shahid to watch Al Nassr vs Al Shabab, along with other Saudi Pro League matches.

  Date Time TV channel Streaming
USA Tue, May 23 2:30 p.m. ET — Shahid
UK Tue, May 23 7:30 p.m. BST — Shahid
Australia Wed, May 24 4:30 a.m.AEST — 10 Play
Canada Tue, May 23 2:30 p.m. ET — Shahid
Hong Kong Wed, May 24 2:30 a.m. HKT — Shahid
India Wed, May 24 12 a.m. IST — Shahid
Malaysia Wed, May 24 2:30 a.m. MYT — Shahid
New Zealand Wed, May 24 6:30 a.m. NZST — Shahid
Singapore Wed, May 24 2:30 a.m. SGT — Shahid

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.