Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Raed: Ronaldo goal not enough for opening-day win

Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a late winner as Al-Nassr were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Raed on the opening day of the Saudi Pro League.

Mohammed Fouzair equalised from the spot at the start of the second half, cancelling out the 39-year-old’s first-half goal at Al Awal Park on Thursday.

Al-Nassr dominated the opening exchanges, and when the visitors struggled to clear their lines from a corner, Ronaldo towered over everyone in the box to nod home Sadio Mane’s delivery.

They found themselves on the backfoot minutes into the second half though – Amir Sayoud’s curling shot was saved, but Fouzair was dragged back by Aymeric Laporte when he tried to reach the rebound, resulting in the defender receiving a straight red card.

After a VAR review, the card was downgraded to a yellow and a penalty was awarded to Al-Raed. Fouzair then made no mistake from 12 yards, picking out the bottom-right corner.

Talisca struck the post as Al-Nassr searched for a winner, and Ronaldo thought he had found one with just under 15 minutes left. He curved his run in behind the defence to poke past Meshari Sunyur, who had looked unbeatable, but the forward was offside, and it did not count.

The hosts were unable to join Al-Taawoun on three points at the top of the table after their win earlier on Thursday.

| نهايـة المواجهة!
النصر 1 – 1 الرائد#النصر_الرائد⁩ | ⁦#AlNassrAlRaed pic.twitter.com/E5IJAZhxRA

— نادي النصر السعودي (@AlNassrFC) August 22, 2024

Data Debrief: Fine margins deny Ronaldo

After suffering disappointment in the Saudi Super Cup last weekend, Al-Nassr would have been keen to get off to a winning start in the league.

And they came close. They dominated throughout the game, having 28 shots to Al-Raed’s seven, generating 2.18 expected goals.

Ronaldo now has 36 goals in the Saudi Pro League and was denied a 37th by the closest of margins in a frustrating day for the hosts.