Damac vs Al Nassr score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo nets first-half hat-trick

Dom Farrell

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Damac vs Al Nassr score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo nets first-half hat-trick image

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half hat-trick as Al Nassr stormed to the top of the Saudi Pro League with a 3-0 victory at Damac.

Leaders Al Ittihad drew 0-0 at home to Al Raed on Thursday, leaving them with a slender one-point lead that a Ronaldo-inspired Al Nassr duly turned into two-point deficit with each of the contenders having played 18 games.

Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 18 minutes, and soon took his tally to seven in five games in Saudi Arabia's top flight.

Kresimir Rezic's Damac are now without a win in four matches and Ronaldo compounded their misery a minute before halftime when he crowned a sweeping counter-attack to claim the matchball.

Damac vs Al Nassr final score

  1H 2H Final
Damac 0 0 0
Al Nassr 3 0 3

Goals:

AL NASSR — Cristiano Ronaldo (penalty) — 18th minute
AL NASSR — Cristiano Ronaldo — 23rd minute
AL NASSR — Cristiano Ronaldo — 44th minute.

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo hat-tricks: How many does CR7 have in his career?

Al Nassr controlled the action from kickoff and the chance for the breakthrough came in the 18th minute.

Abdulrahman Ghareeb should have scored from a right-wing cross, but knocked the ball away from goal, perhaps seeking out Ronaldo instead of shooting himself. Sami Al-Najei smashed goalwards and the ball struck Damac captain Ibrahim Al-Nakhli on the arm.

A VAR review saw a penalty awarded and Al-Nakhli booked before Ronaldo slammed home. Despite this being an away game for Al Nassr, plenty of those in attendance joined in with his customary “SIUUUUU!” celebration.

That was unfurled again five minutes later as Damac revealed their vulnerability to the counter-attack and Ronaldo drilled into the bottom corner left-footed.

Ghareeb carved Damac apart with an outside-of-the-foot pass in the 44th minute and Ronaldo arrived with impeccable timing to dispatch Sami Al-Najei's knockdown.

Ronaldo had a fourth ruled out for offside during the second half, when substitute Jaloliddin Masharipov headed his left-wing free-kick against the crossbar. Ghareeb was also unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet as the final scoreline flattered Damac.

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo's salary in Saudi Arabia

Lineups:

Damac (4-5-1): Zeghba (GK) — 30-Chafai, 15-Al-Nakhli, 3-Bedrane, 32-Hassoun  —  12-Makeen, 13-Al-Ammar, 6-Mhaer, 17-Antolic, 2-Soudani — 7-Hamzi

Subs: 22-Hawswi (GK), 38-Al-Njair, 8-Al-Mousa, 10-Delgado, 14-Al-Surhani, 20-Al-Anzi, 40-H. Al-Shmarani, 11-A. Al-Shmarani, 23-Majrashi

Al Nassr (4-2-3-1):  44-Nawaf (GK) — 2-Sultan, 5-Al-Amri, 3-Madu, 13-Konan— 18-Luiz Gustavo, 17-Al-Khaibari — 29-Ghareeb, 23-Ayman, 14-Sami — 7-Ronaldo

Subs: 22-Rossi (GK), 4-Al-Fatil, 12-Boushal, 27-Majed, 8-Al-Sulaihem, 19-Al-Hassan, 77-Masharipov, 78-Lajami, 16-Maran

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

Fulltime: Three points for Al Nassr, three goals for Cristiano Ronaldo - a 62nd career hat-trick, which is a frankly absurd state of affairs. This is exactly what Al Nassr and Saudi football signed up for when they signed up the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Rudi Garcia's men go top of the table, two points clear of Al Ittihad, and you feel like it will really take something to shift them.

90th minute+1: Masharipov and Ronaldo are to the fore as Al Nassr look for number four. Damac are collectively out on their feet but danger is averted.

90th minute: There will be four additional minutes.

88th minute: Crossbar! Ronaldo drives in a free-kick from the left and the luckless Masharipov guides his header against the crossbar. For reasons best known to himself, Damac substitute Majrashi was loitering at the back post playing everyone onside.

85th minute: Chance for Hamzi... no, he's offside. The Al Nassr backline has been well-oiled machine today... oh, hang on, here's Ronaldo charging towards goal again. Enough Damac players get back to crowd him out. He wants a penalty, but he's not getting one.

80th minute: It's all got a bit fractious out there. Ghareeb is down and requires treatment after Bedrane, in the parlance of no-nonsense defending, left a little bit on him.

75th minute: Here's Ronaldo again. He gets the ball stuck under his feet a bit and Al-Nakhli scrambles it behind for a corner. It's taken short and Damac see off the danger.

73rd minute: Bedrane ends up in a heap on the floor after failing to convert the latest Damac free-kick from the left where everyone has run offside. Not to put too fine a point on this, but the home team have been rubbish.

69th minute: Al-Suliahem is replacing Sami Al-Najei for the visitors.

67th minute: Ronaldo has four!!! Oh, no, hang on...it's offside. Just. Smooth move from Al Nassr and a trademark finish. It all looked far too easy. We might give Damac credit for their effective offside trap but, unfortunately, we've seen the rest of their defensive work this evening so they probably just got lucky. 

62nd minute: Brave goalkeeping from Zaghba between the posts for Damac, who gets up above Ronaldo to prevent him from glancing home.

59th minute: Masharipov has been a lively presence since coming on but should have a goal to show for his efforts by this point. The Uzbek winger drags wide from 15 yards. The way Damac are carrying on, you'd expect him to get a few more chances.

56th minute: Again Al Nassr have room to make merry on the break. Ghareeb exchanges passes with Sami before blootering miles over the bar.

54th minute: Ronaldo is ready to celebrate his and Al Nassr's fourth, but Bedrane makes a sensational sliding block.

53rd minute: It's an all through traffic situation in that Damac defence. Ronaldo plays in Ghareeb who should score. Home goalkeeper Zeghba saves well, but shouldn't have had a chance.

52nd minute: Another Al Nassr attack falls down as the supporting forwards seemingly dally over whether to pass to Ronaldo or not. Masharipov, on for the injured Ayman, should do better on the end of Ghareeb's pass. Luiz Gustavo collects the second ball and has a shot blocked. An action-packed passage of play ends with Damac on the counter and Hamzi dragging wide from outside the box.

50th minute: Ronaldo ventures out to his old habitat on the left wing, shimmies towards the box and stands up his marker. None of his colleagues are on hand to convert an inviting cross into the six-yard box.

48th minute: Al-Nakhli should have had the ball lin the net there, but the Damac skipper strayed offside when trying to meet a left-wing free-kick so it wouldn't have counted.

46th minute: We're back underway. Ronaldo subjected his teammates to a lengthy and impassioned team talk in the tunnel before they re-emerged. He doesn't want to see any let-up.

Halftime: The whistle goes and there's a weird combination of loud adulation for Ronaldo's exploits and ferocious boos from those who would like to see the home team putting up a much better fight. Join me shortly to see if there's any way back for Damac in the second 45. It seems incredibly unlikely. Barring a ridiculous turn of events, Ronaldo and Al Nassr are heading to the top of the table.

45th minute+1: We're into four minutes of stoppage time, which seems a wretched allocation as far as Damac are concerned. Having said that, it's hard to imagine Kresimir Rezic will be welcoming them with cookies and glasses of warm milk when they return to the dressing room. The home side have been wretched and allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to stage his own personal party on their turf.

44st minute: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Cristiano Ronaldo!!!!!

That's the matchball. Al Nassr stream forward on the break, with lots of room. Where are the Damac defence? Ronaldo doesn't care as Ghareeb and Sami combine unselfishly to leave him with a simple finish.

37th minute: Well, who am I to doubt the referee's integrity? Ronaldo plays a one-two and goes barrelling through a dishevelled Damac defence. Bedrane gets the wrong side of the striker and challenges clumsily. There's not a lot in, but he doesn't get much of the ball. No penalty and a corner is given.

33rd minute: Hmmmm, Hamzi chases a long ball over the top and goes down under some attention from Al-Amri. I can see why the referee decided not to give anything there, but it's hard not to imagine a different outcome if the No.7 at the other end of the field was involved in a similar incident. Either way, Hamzi is an absolute handful and needs some of his teammates to step up.

30th minute: Ronaldo takes aim for the hat-trick on his left foot from about 25 yards. That's an overly ambitious attempt that sails way over.

29th minute: Damac need to get Hamzi involved as much as they can because they're absolutely all over the place defensively. Al Nassr's attacks do seem slightly compromised by trying to pass to Ronaldo at every opportunity. Not that you can argue with the tactic with complete conviction given how things have panned out so far.

25th minute: Crossbar!!! My word, Hamzi almost pulls off an incredible response for Damac, controlling on his chest and launching a stunning overhead kick that bounces to safety off the bar. Replays suggest it would have been pulled back for offside, but that was a sumptuous piece of technique.

23rd minute: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Cristiano Ronaldo!!!!!

Ronaldo goes "bang, bang" and Al Nassr are heading to the top of the table. He has three men around him when he received possession on the edge of the area but drills an unerring left-footed finish into the bottom corner. As with the penalty, Zeghba had no chance.

18th minute: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Cristiano Ronaldo (penalty)

No mistake from the main man, who hammers home and sends the goalkeeper the wrong way. Al Nassr might be the away side but they - or, more accurately, Ronaldo - have plenty of support in the stands. A good slice of the crowd have exactly what they came to see and join in with the "SIUUUUUU!!!" goal celebration.

17th minute: Penalty to Al Nassr. The referee goes to the monitor and the replay clearly shows that Damac skipper Al-Nakhli blocked that with his arm. It wasn't deliberate, so no red card, just a yellow. I wonder who will take this...

15th minute: Al Nassr left-back Konan is joining attacks at every opportunity and wins a foul. Instead of launching it into the box, they play the ball around the backline again, but quicken the pace effectively this time. How have they not scored!!! Ghareeb entirely miscues a simple chance at the back post, or tries to pass to Ronaldo, depending on your perspective. Still, Sami should score but doesn't. Al Nassr want a penalty.

9th minute: Plenty of the ball for Al Nassr but they're moving it slowly. Pedestrian possession. Al-Shmarani tries to instigate something with a raking ball to the far post but Sami miscues his header for a goal kick.

7th minute: Damac look to break after some compact defensive work but left winger Soudani strays needlessly offside.

5th minute: Up steps Bedrane and lofts it harmlessly over the bar. That feels like a waste.

4th minute: Al Nassr carelessly cough up possession in midfield and Al-Amri is forced to bring down lone Damac forward Hamzi. The free-kick is central and about 25 yards out.

2nd minute: An early touch for Ronaldo as Al Nassr look to begin on the front foot but he's well marshalled by a well-stocked Damac backline.

1st minute: We're underway at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium. 

5 mins from kickoff: The teams are in the tunnel. Al Nassr wearing their white change strip as opposed to their traditional yellow and blue.

30 mins from kickoff: And here's how the hosts will shape up. After a three-match winless run, can they spring a huge surprise?

50 mins from kickoff: Here's the Al Nassr lineup for today. Ronaldo has a considerable burden to carry in attack, with fellow overseas stars Talisca and Pity Martinez absent from the squad.

1 hour from kickoff: Ronaldo followed up those heroics with a pair of assists in the 2-1 win over Al Taawon — a big part of the reason that top spot beckons.

1 hr 20 mins from kickoff: It's not long since there was some consternation about Ronaldo's lacklustre start to life at Al Nassr. He now has five goals in four Pro League matches, including all four when Rudi Garcia's men hammered Al Wehda 4-0.

1 hr 40 mins from kickoff: Al Nassr are gunning for top spot in the Saudi Pro League today. Leaders Al Ittihad were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Al Raed on Thursday to leave the door ajar. Cristiano Ronaldo's side are a point behind and this is their game in hand.

2 hours from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Damac vs. Al Nassr. Jake Paul and Tommy Fury might be the talk of Saudi Arabia this weekend but, for Saturday evening at least, Cristiano Ronaldo will once again take centre stage.

Damac vs Al Nassr lineups

Kresimir Rezic's side are without a win in three matches and lie seventh in the table. In a 2-0 defeat at Khaleej last time out, the Croatian coach reverted to a 5-4-1 system although it looks like a back four for Ronaldo and co. to negotiate.

Damac lineup (4-5-1): Zeghba (GK) — 30-Chafai, 15-Al-Nakhli, 3-Bedrane, 32-Hassoun  —  12-Makeen, 13-Al-Ammar, 6-Mhaer, 17-Antolic, 2-Soudani — 7-Hamzi

Subs: 22-Hawswi (GK), 38-Al-Njair, 8-Al-Mousa, 10-Delgado, 14-Al-Surhani, 20-Al-Anzi, 40-H. Al-Shmarani, 11-A. Al-Shmarani, 23-Majrashi

Talisca returned from suspension as a second-half substitute during Al Nassr's win over Al Taawoun but the Brazilian forward is not part of Rudi Garcia's matchday squad, with Pity Martinez another high-profile absentee.

Al Nassr lineup (4-2-3-1):  44-Nawaf (GK) — 2-Sultan, 5-Al-Amri, 3-Madu, 13-Konan— 18-Luiz Gustavo, 17-Al-Khaibari — 29-Ghareeb, 23-Ayman, 14-Sami — 7-Ronaldo

Subs: 22-Rossi (GK), 4-Al-Fatil, 12-Boushal, 27-Majed, 8-Al-Sulaihem, 19-Al-Hassan, 77-Masharipov, 78-Lajami, 16-Maran

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo's salary in Saudi Arabia

How to watch Damac vs. Al Nassr

  TV channel Streaming
Australia — 10 Play, Shahid
Canada — Shahid
Hong Kong — myTV Super, Shahid
India — Shahid
Malaysia Astro Supersport 5 Astro Go, sooka, Shahid
New Zealand — Shahid
Singapore — Shahid
UK — Shahid
USA — Shahid

SSC (Saudi Sports Company) has been live streaming Al Nassr matches in English via its Twitter channel, with Sky Sports picking up the feed on YouTube. However, this match falls foul of the UK's Saturday 3 p.m live football blackout window

Local broadcasters in selected countries have the rights to televise or stream the Saudi Pro League, and fans in other countries can subscribe to streaming platform Shahid for complete coverage of the Roshn Saudi Pro League.

According to LiveSoccerTV, selected European countries will have local broadcasters carrying the match, while DirecTV Sports will bring it to Spanish-speaking South American countries.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.