Al-Nassr have defeated Al-Shabab 5-2 away from home to seal qualification for the semi-finals of the 2023/24 Saudi King Cup.
With a thumping 4-1 league win over Al-Riyadh last week, Al-Nassr were looking to capitalise on their momentum and they managed to do just that on Monday evening.
After losing Alex Telles due to injury before the game, head coach Luis Castro decided to rely on 22-year-old Ayman Yahya at left-back while Abdulrahman Ghareeb filled in for Anderson Talisca.
The opening minutes saw Al-Nassr look threatening on the attack as the visitors got the start they wanted after taking the lead in the 17th minute.
A quick move saw the ball drop to Seko Fofana inside the box and the Ivorian tapped home to open his scoring account for Al-Nassr this season.
Less than seven minutes later, Al-Shabab levelled the scoring from a corner as Carlos Alberto’s header restored parity.
It didn’t take long for Al-Nassr to go in front again as they found their second after 28 minutes with Sadio Mane finishing a blistering counter-attack.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb also added a third before the break after converting Marcelo Brozovic’s driven ball into the box to end a dominant first half for Al-Nassr.
In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo finally got on the scoresheet following a lovely one-two pass with Otavio to net his side’s fourth and his 50th goal this year.
Despite a late consolation from Hattan Bahebri, Al-Nassr sealed their victory with a fifth goal from substitute Mohammed Maran.