Tale of two penalties as Ronaldo fires Al-Nassr to victory over Al-Shabab

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a 97th-minute penalty as Al-Nassr clinched a 2-1 victory at Al-Shabab in the Saudi Pro League, with the hosts missing a spot-kick of their own 12 minutes into stoppage time.

Ronaldo held his nerve from 12 yards after Robert Renan needlessly fouled Abdulrahman Ghareeb, sending Kim Seung-Gyu the wrong way to score his sixth goal of the season.

Al-Nassr had earlier gone ahead through Aymeric Laporte in the 69th minute, only for substitute Ali Alhassan to slice a clearance into his own net in the 90th minute.

Ronaldo’s penalty was not the end of the drama, though, as Mohamed Simakan was penalised for a stamp on Nader Al-Sharari inside the area, receiving his second yellow card and handing Al-Shabab a glorious chance to level.

However, Abderrazak Hamdallah crashed his kick against the woodwork, handing Al-Nassr their fifth win of the campaign and taking them to 17 points.

It’s not an easy task pic.twitter.com/5DqNbzECsG

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) October 18, 2024

They remain four points adrift of the summit, though, with champions Al-Hilal remaining perfect with a 3-0 rout of Al-Fayha.

Marcos Leonardo, Salem Al Dawsari and substitute Mohammed Al Qahtani were on target for Al-Hilal, who are now unbeaten in 43 league games since a 2-0 defeat at Al-Adalah in May 2023.

In Friday’s other game, Al-Ahli trounced Al-Khaleej 3-0 to go fifth in the standings, with Ivan Toney scoring with a powerful left-footed volley after assisting Feras Al Brikan’s opener. Centre-back Merih Demiral scored the visitors’ third.