Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane were amongst the goals for the second consecutive week as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Shabab 4-0 on Tuesday.
Al-Nassr earned their first win of the Saudi Pro League season in dominant fashion last week as Ronaldo’s hat-trick along with Mane’s brace sealed a comprehensive victory over Al-Fateh.
Head coach Luis Castro made no changes to his starting lineup against Al-Shabab as new signings Aymeric Laporte and Otavio kept their places after impressing in the previous round.
Al-Shabab, led by Ever Banega, had a disastrous start and conceded a penalty after the opening 10 minutes which was confirmed after a brief VAR review.
Ronaldo stepped up and converted successfully from the spot to give Al-Nassr the early breakthrough after 13 minutes of play.
More chances followed for Al-Nassr as Ronaldo found the back of the net after heading home Marcelo Brozovic’s corner delivery but the goal was ruled out as the referee noticed a shove from the Portuguese on Al-Shabab’s Fawaz Al-Yami.
The hosts were awarded another penalty in the first half when Gustavo Cuellar brought down Ronaldo inside the box as the latter scored his second spot-kick of the evening to double Al-Nassr’s lead.
The 38-year-old has now scored five goals for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League after just four games played this season.
Just minutes before the break, Mane also got on the scoresheet as Ronaldo’s delicate pass found the former Liverpool forward who finished at the near post beyond Al-Shabab’s Kim Seung-gyu to net their third.
Al-Shabab’s night got worse as they were reduced to ten men when Ever Banega received a red card for violent conduct in the 78th minute.
Two minutes later, Ronaldo almost completed his hat-trick but his header came off the post as Sultan Al-Ghannam scored on the rebound to secure another important win for Al-Nassr.