In this Al Nassr vs Al Ahli Doha match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Semi-final match, single game, heavy context, but on the pitch the difference in quality ended up speaking louder, even if the start suggested otherwise.
Al Nassr came in somewhat switched off and early on there was controversy. In the 6th minute, a completely debatable penalty, the kind that already looks strange live and even more so on replay. Draxler stepped up and Bento saved. Justice in the result, because it simply wasn’t a penalty.
But the warning was there and in the 10th minute, Al Ahli took advantage. Yansane received on the right, faced up, cut inside with far too much space and curled it to the far post. A good goal, but also with far too much defensive passivity. 0-1.
Al Nassr’s response was immediate and that changed everything. In the 12th minute, quick move, Mané produced a perfect trivela pass into the run, the ball entered the box and Coman finished into the back of the net. 1-1.
The game entered a more chaotic phase, with constant transitions and questionable refereeing decisions causing frustration. There was a disallowed goal for Al Nassr that raised doubts; there was a touch from Brozović, yes, but it seemed too slight to rule it out and that only increased the sense of inconsistency.
Then in the 23rd minute, Al Nassr turned it around. High recovery, Mané released it at the right moment and Ângelo attacked the space. He received already inside the area and finished calmly. This time, a clean move, well worked and with perfect reading of space. 2-1. From there, Al Nassr grew in control, but didn’t kill the game. They kept circulating, kept pushing, but often complicated things when they could have simplified. And that kept Al Ahli alive, especially in isolated moments.
The key moment before half-time wasn’t a goal, it was a tackle. Draxler went past everyone, took the goalkeeper out of the play, open goal and Al Amri came in with an absurd sliding clearance. One of those moments worth as much as a goal. And in the last seconds of the first half, in the 45+8 minute, the third arrived. Scrappy situation, the ball dropped inside the box and fell to Coman, and here there was no aesthetics: pure opportunism. He was in the right place. 3-1.
In the second half, the game practically died. Al Ahli didn’t react, didn’t press, didn’t believe and Al Nassr managed it. Cristiano tried to get involved, but he wasn’t having a good day. Poor decisions, poor execution and that also says a lot: even in a controlled game, he couldn’t leave his mark.
Coman did. In the 64th minute, once again attacking the space, he received and finished across goal to the far post. A goal very similar to the first, but with more space. Hat-trick and game over. 4-1.
From there, it was total management. Al Nassr lowered the tempo, rotated players and controlled without effort. And there was still time for another, in the 80th minute, from a perfect counter-attack. Ângelo burst down the left, reached the byline and squared it for Al-Hamdan. Simple tap-in, but coming from another great decision by Ângelo. 5-1.
Post-match
Clear win for Al Nassr, confirming their status as favourites and securing a place in the final. Huge highlights for Ângelo and Coman, who decided the game, while Cristiano was quiet, something rare, but evident in this context.
