Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo inspires a 2-1 victory with two assists

Nathan Evans

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Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun score, result, highlights as Cristiano Ronaldo inspires a 2-1 victory with two assists image

A Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Al Nassr grabbed a vital 2-1 victory against Al Taawoun to head back to the top of the Saudi Pro League standings on goal difference at the halfway point of the season. 

The Portuguese star proved the difference maker as his defence-splitting pass in the first half found winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb who confidently curved the ball inside the far post to put the hosts up 1-0. 

Al Taawoun fired back at the start of the second half through Spaniard Alvaro Medran, who calmly dispatched a side-footed volley at the back post, but Ronaldo again assisted the winner from Abdullah Madu as Al Nassr stole all three points. 

Ronaldo's second came as he inadvertently stopped a goalward effort from teammate Luiz Gustavo, though thankfully for him, Madu was on hand to smash home the winner via the crossbar. 

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr goals 2022/23: All his goals, assists and other stats

Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun final score

  1H 2H FT
Al Nassr 1 1 2
Al Taawoun 0 1 1

Goals:
NAS — Abdulrahman Ghareeb (Cristiano Ronaldo) — 17th min.
TAA — Alvaro Medran — 47th min.
NAS — Abdullah Madu (Cristiano Ronaldo) — 79th min.

Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun updates, highlights as it happened

Final: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun

Full-time: Despite some late pressure, Al Taawoun can't find a late equaliser and Al Nassr survive to take the 2-1 victory. As a result, Ronaldo & Co. go back to the top of the Saudi Pro League standings even if they weren't at their best in this match.

The Portuguese star gets the assists for both Al Nassr goals as strikes from Ghareeb and Madu prove the difference in Riyadh. 

95th min.: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun

Al Taawoun chance! The visitors recycle a corner, but the shot from Medran is blocked by a defender before another shot is driven wide from outside the box. Less than five minutes for Al Nassr to hold on here. 

93rd min.: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun

It's a case of now or never for Al Taawoun who have been the better side overall in this second half but are yet to really threaten during injury time. They have the chance to get the ball into the box from a deep free-kick but the cross is too long. 

90th min.: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun

Al Taawound chance! What an opportunity for the visitors to equalise!

Sumayhan Al-Nabit goes clean through on the right and lifts the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper but his attempt just goes wide of the far post. That was a close call for Al Nassr. 

There'll be NINE minutes of added time here in Riyadh. 

84th min.: Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun

VAR check: There'll be plenty of time added on in this one as that VAR decision for Al Nassr's second goal took around five minutes to make. Al Taawoun will still fancy their chances in grabbing a result given that they've been the better side throughout this second half. 

79th min.: GOOOAAALLL! Al Nassr 2-1 Al Taawoun (Abdullah Madu)

Al Nassr finally lead! The hosts play a corner short and the ball falls to Luiz Gustavo who strikes at goal. Ronaldo accidentally blocks his goalward attempt, but Abdullah Madu is on hand to stroke home via the crossbar. 

That took VAR absolutely ages to decide upon but it's a second assist of the night for Ronaldo.

77th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

Al Nassr chance! It's so close from Ronaldo! Talisca finds his teammate who dummies Naldo before striking straight at the goalkeeper from inside the penalty area. The pressure is building from the hosts now. 

73rd min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

Al Nassr chance! Mayhem in the Al Taawoun penalty area as Talisca first sees his shot blocked before Gustavo drives his attempt straight at a defender. The visitors survive. 

71st min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

SUBS Al Nassr. It's another double change for Rudi Garcia's side as league topscorer Anderson Talisca joins the fun for Al Nassr.

He has 13 goals in 13 league matches so far this season and will be hoping to grab another here to send his side back to the summit of the Saudi Pro League. 

69th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

Goal disallowed. Out of nowhere the visitors are ahead as the ball breaks kindly for Tawamba who holds off his man to find the bottom corner. 

But wait! The VAR intervenes and deems that the Cameroonian striker was offside. We remain level for now. 

65th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

SUBS Al Nassr. Manager Rudi Garcia decides to make a double substitution as Gonzalo 'Pity' Martinez and Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem come on. The hosts have lacked real energy in the second half thus far. 

They do have a couple more shots from distance soon after, but the first is blocked while the second flies over the crossbar. 

62nd min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo attack. CR7 tries to get his side going with a darting run down the left, but he's twice tackled by defenders who halt his progress. 

59th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

The visitors are the ones looking more likely to score again right now as they continue to dictate the play in the second half so far. Al Nassr can't get hold of the ball at all at present as Medran pulls the strings in midfield for Al Taawoun.

55th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun

It's end-to-end stuff now in this match as both sides go in search of the lead. There's also a couple of heavy tackles flying in — this clash could get tasty at this rate!

49th min.: Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun 

Al Nassr chance! A huge opportunity for Ronaldo who is foiled at point blank range by the goalkeeper with a fantastic stop. 

47th min.: GOOOAAALLL - Al Nassr 1-1 Al Taawoun (Alvaro Medran)

That didn't take long as the visitors equalise straight after halftime!

The ball is played in deep from the right and there's Spaniard Alvaro Medran at the back post to side foot home on the volley to level the game. The Al Nassr defence was nowhere to be seen. 

46 min: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo gets the second half underway in Riyadh. 

SUB Al Taawoun. The visitors make their first substitute of the match at the break as Sumayhan Al-Nabit enters the action. 

Halftime: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Halftime: So far so good for Al Nassr who lead this Saudi Pro League clash at the break 1-0 and are currently leading the competition once again in the standings. 

The hosts took the lead through winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb who latched onto Ronaldo's fantastic pass to finish into the far corner with precision. 

Al Nassr also had a huge penalty claim deep into first half injury time but the referee waved away their claims. 

44th min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo attack. Al Nassr's Sami Al-Najei tries a one-two on the edge of the box with Ronaldo, but the Portuguese star just can't find him with the return. 

41st min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

The home side are doing a great job of keeping hold of the lead here in Riyadh. Al Taawoun have grown into this game substantially over the last 10 minutes of play, but so far are yet to have any big chances thanks to Al Nassr's solid defensive shape. 

37th min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo attack. Al Nassr are pushing for another goal before the break here. After sustained pressure on the Al Taawoun goal, Ronaldo can't latch onto a through ball and the visitors clear. 

31st min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Al Taawoun chance. The visitors attack down the right through some wonderful play from Saad Al Nasser. He twice takes on his defender, but his cross goes to waste.

Al Nassr chance. At the other end, Ronaldo strikes at goal but it's easily held by the goalkeeper. 

28th min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

Al Taawoun chance. There's an almighty scramble in Al Nassr's box as the visitors push forward but Konan does just enough to turn the ball behind for an Al Taawoun corner. 

The ball is delivered and Leandre Tawamba gets a shot off at the near post but it's saved and the subsequent danger is cleared soon after. 

24th min.: Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun

No real response yet from Al Taawoun who keep surrendering possession far too cheaply in midfield. They loft a few crosses into the Al Nassr box but Gustavo and then the goalkeeper deal with them easily. 

17th min.: GOAAAALLLLL - Al Nassr 1-0 Al Taawoun (Abdulrahman Ghareeb)

The hosts take the lead as they look to go back to the top of the Saudi Pro League. 

Ronaldo plays a lovely ball out wide to which Abdulrahman Ghareeb latches onto. He takes his time and slides the ball into the far corner and Al Nassr go 1-0 up just like that. 

12th min.: Al Nassr 0-0 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo finds Ayman Yahya just outside the box, but the latter can only strike wide from distance. 

10th min.: Al Nassr 0-0 Al Taawoun

Al Nassr are starting to grind into gear now, winning the midfield battles in particular. No more chances as of yet, however. 

6th min.: Al Nassr 0-0 Al Taawoun

Ronaldo chance. And just like that Al Nassr nearly take the lead through Ronaldo. 

The Portuguese star picks up the ball on the edge of the area before spinning away from his man. He then unleashes a strike at goal which only narrowly misses the target. 

5th min.: Al Nassr 0-0 Al Taawoun

A fairly even opening five minutes with Al Taawoun starting this match brightly in particular. The away side have held most of the possession with the majority of this match being played in Al Nassr's half so far.  

Ronaldo had the ball in the opposition's box but the experienced Naldo did well to deal with the situation. 

1st min.: Al Nassr 0-0 Al Taawoun

The visitors get us underway here in Riyadh. 

5 mins to KO: The two teams emerge from the tunnel.

20 mins to KO: One Al Taawoun player that the Al Nassr defence will have to keep an eye on throughout this match is Spanish midfielder Alvaro Medran. He could also cause problems for the hosts given he's struck four times so far this campaign. 

40 mins to KO: Both sides take to the field for their warmups and receive a friendly welcome from the crowd at King Saud University Stadium in downtown Riyadh. 

The vast majority will be hoping to see Al Nassr claim another vital victory today to move back to the top of the Saudi Pro League table. 

1 hr to KO: Team news! As expected, Ronaldo leads the line for Al Nassr, though league top-scorer Anderson Talisca — who has 13 goals in 13 appearances this season — is on the bench. Luis Gustavo starts in the heart of midfield for the hosts whilst winger Ayman Yahya also gets the nod from manager Rudi Garcia. 

1 hr 20 mins to KO: Not long now until team news is released by both sides for this Saudi Pro League clash. 

Here's your kick-off time reminder from Al Nassr: 

1hr 40 mins to KO: As mentioned before, Al Nassr have the chance to go back to the top of the Saudi Pro League if they can get the better of Al Taawoun today. That said, their only league defeat of the season so far came against this opposition so they'll need to be very wary of the danger the visitors pose. 

2 hrs to KO: Cristiano Ronaldo has quickly found his feet in Saudi Arabia — can he follow up that four-goal salvo against Al Wehda to send Al Nassr top of the table again?

Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun predicted lineups

Al Nassr boss Rudi Garcia has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this game with first-choice goalkeeper David Ospina the only absentee with Nawaf Alaqidi continuing to deputise for the Colombian with Talisca back from a ban.

Al Nassr lineup (4-2-3-1): Nawaf Alaqidi (GK) — Sultan Al-Ghannam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Madu, Ghislain Konan  — Luiz Gustavo, Abdullah Al-Khaibari — Jaloliddin Masharipov, Talisca, Abdulrahman Ghareeb — Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Taawoun are without two key players for this game, with Flavio Medeiros and Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari both out, but Sulaiman Hazazi is back following suspension.

Al Tawooun lineup (4-2-3-1):  Mailson (GK) — Awn Al-Saluli, Naldo, Hassan Kadesh, Sulaiman Hazazi — Aschraf El Mahdioui, Álvaro Medrán — Fahad Alrashidi, Alejandro Romero, Sumayhan Al-Nabit — Léandre Tawamba

MORE: Al Nassr players, full squad and shirt numbers

Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun live stream, TV channel

Local broadcasters in select 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.

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo's salary in Saudi Arabia

  TV channel Streaming
Australia — Shahid
Canada — Shahid
Hong Kong — Shahid, myTV SUPER
India — Shahid
Malaysia Astro Supersport 3 Shahid, Astro Go, sooka
New Zealand — Shahid
Singapore — Shahid
UK — Shahid
USA — Shahid

Nathan Evans

Nathan Evans Photo

A Sports Journalism Masters graduate, Nathan Evans joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working at Opta/Stats Perform for six years. He's an avid fan of Bradford City, FC Köln and the Pittsburgh Penguins.