Saudi Pro League: late Ronaldo penalty leads Al Nassr to a narrow victory against Al Fayha

Al Nassr kept their perfect record alive in this season’s Saudi Pro League, but it didn’t happen without drama at the Al Awwal Park Stadium as the home side edged past Al Fayha with a 2-1 win on Saturday.

A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, including a late penalty, secured three points for Al Nassr, who remain top of the table with 21 points from seven games.

Despite being the underdog, it was Al Fayha who started in the fore and took the lead in the 13th minute. Spanish forward David Remeseiro Salgueiro (known as Jason) timed his run to perfection to beat Al Nassr’s offside trap after Chris Smalling played an inch-perfect over-the-top ball for his teammate.

Jason made his way onto the Al Nassr pitch, kept his composure and slotted the ball past Nawaf Alaqidi for the opening goal of the match.

Kingsley Coman thought he had equalized for Al Nassr five minutes later after converting Sadio Mane’s cross from the left, but a VAR check confirmed the Senegalese was in an offside position when he received Ronaldo’s pass.

The home side found the equalizer in the 37th minute through Ronaldo, who completed a beautiful attack choked by Joao Felix and Coman, who provided the assist for his captain.

Al Nassr dominated the overall proceedings in the second half but were unable to create a big scoring opportunity until the 66th minute when Angelo Gabriel found Ronaldo in the center of the penalty area with a cut-back from the left, which the latter was unable to finish with his first attempt.

AS IT HAPPENED: NAS VS FYH HIGHLIGHTS

As Al Fayha frustrated Al Nassr with its compact defense, it had the chance to score a late winner in the 88th minute. Silvere Ganvoula M’boussy rode a number of challenges to get away and had acres of space to run into. As he made his way into the penalty area, he saw Alaqidi come off his line to reduce the angle, and all he had to do was direct the ball to Jason, who had made a brilliant supporting run to his right.

However, the Congolese took too long to release the ball, allowing Salem Al Najdi to make a goal-saving tackle.

Six minutes were added at the end of the second half, but the match went much further due to interruptions and substitutions.

Just when Fayha thought he was about to grab a valuable point against the mighty Al Nassr, a late VAR check added a late twist to the script.

Abdulelah Al Amri claimed that Mikel Villanueva fouled him in the Fayha area as he tried to head the ball to safety.

A check followed and the referee was called to the monitor to take a look. After a long analysis, he pointed to the spot, much to the anger of Al Fayha’s players and staff.

There was hardly any doubt as to who would take the penalty when Ronaldo lined up the ball 15 minutes into second half extra time. With his ever-confident attitude, he fired the ball into the roof of the net to steal the win and give Al Nassr their seventh league appearance in as many games.

Published on November 2, 2025