Without captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr had to rely on a second-minute goal to win 2-1 at Al Hazem in the 1/16 round of the Saudi King’s Cup.

* Goals: Al Sayyali 62 – Mane 45+6, Nawaf Boushal 90+2

According to Saudi Arabia’s Al Jazirah newspaper , new coach Stefano Pioli did not register Ronaldo to play against Al Hazem so that the 39-year-old striker could rest and be at his best before two important matches against Al Wehda in the fifth round of the Saudi Pro League on September 27 and Qatari club Al Rayyan in the second round of the AFC Champions League Elite on September 30. Marcelo Brozovic and Ali Lajami were absent because they had not recovered from injuries.

In Ronaldo’s absence, Mane (No. 10) wore the captain’s armband and celebrated with his teammates after struggling to overcome Al Hazem. Photo: Al Nassr

Ronaldo also missed the opening match of the AFC Champions League, a 1-1 draw with Al Shorta on September 16 due to a virus infection. Four days later, the Portuguese striker returned, scoring a penalty to help Al Nassr beat hosts Al Ettifaq 3-0 in the fourth round of the Saudi Pro League, thereby ending a two-match losing streak.

Ronaldo has scored five goals in six games since the start of the season, taking his tally to 902 goals in 1,163 career games, averaging a goal every 113 minutes. In his last eight games, the 39-year-old striker has scored seven goals and provided two assists.

At King Abdullah Sports City yesterday, even without Ronaldo, Al Nassr still dominated with 65% ball possession, 21 shots with eight on target – compared to 7 and 2 of Al Hazem.

Al Nassr had nine shots in the first half, with Sadio Mane having a goal ruled out for offside. After several chances, the visitors got their chance in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Mane met a cross from the right wing and headed the ball across the corner, leaving the Al Hazem goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Mane headed in the opening goal for Al Nassr. Photo: Al Nassr

In the second half, the home team unexpectedly equalized thanks to a close-range shot by Basil Yousef Alsayyali. Al Hazem continued to put the ball into Al Nassr’s net in the 76th minute, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.

Not only did Al Nassr escape defeat, they were also lucky to score the winning goal. In the second minute of injury time, centre-back Jurien Gaari headed the ball back after goalkeeper Ibrahim Zaid came out, allowing Nawaf Boushal to finish into an empty net, sending Al Nassr into the Saudi King’s Cup round of 16. Last season, Al Nassr reached the final of this tournament, but lost 4-5 to Al Hilal on penalties.

New coach Stefano Pioli got off to a flying start, beating Al Ettifaq 3-0 in the fourth round of the Saudi Pro League and Al Hazem 2-1 in the last 16 of the Saudi King’s Cup. Pioli is Al Nassr’s fourth coach since Ronaldo’s arrival in late 2022, following Luis Castro, Dinko Jelicic and Rudi Garcia.

Starting lineup:

Al Hazem: Zaid, Al Dakheel, Gaari, Al Aazmi, Al Yami, Al Rashid, Al-Dhuwayhi, Al Samtai, Al Sayyali, Al Habashi, Yoda

Al Nassr: Bento, Al Ghannam, Al Fatil, Laporte, Abdulrahman, Ali, Otavio, Angelo, Talisca, Mane, Ghareeb