This was one of those games that cannot be won with talent alone. It was won with patience, concentration and competitive maturity. Al Nassr, despite all the collective limitations it continues to show, did exactly that. It was not brilliant, it was not dominant in terms of spectacle, but it was almost always in control of the game.
From the opening whistle it was clear that Al Nassr wanted to take charge. After two minutes, an immediate warning sign: a sharp, clean pass from Simakan, a perfect read from Cristiano attacking the space, and a volley that only failed to be a goal because the crossbar said no. That was the Ronaldo who does not wait, who does not ask, who attacks the moment. Shortly after, in the move that led to a disallowed goal, he again showed total maturity. Instead of forcing a direct free kick, he lifted his head, crossed, and handed Simakan a clean header. A perfect play, even if ruled out for Simakan’s offside.
Al Nassr settled naturally into the attacking half. They had the ball and they had territory. The problem was always the same: the final decision. One pass too many, a poorly measured cross, a shot blocked at the last second. The game was asking for a small detail, and that detail stubbornly refused to appear.
On the other side, Al Taawoun played exactly the game they wanted. A low block, five at the back, four midfielders very close together, and zero anxiety. They did not press high, they did not expose themselves, they simply closed spaces and waited for a mistake that almost never came. When they had the ball, they did not really know what to do with it, and the numbers showed it. Very few passes, almost all in their own half, and no real ability to build play with any clarity.
The goal arrived the way goals in these games usually do, through insistence. Mané crossed with intent, Cristiano and Brozović attacked the right zones, and Al Dossari ended up deflecting the ball into his own net. It was an own goal, yes, but it came from real attacking pressure, not from chance.
In the second half, the scenario barely changed. Al Nassr remained comfortable on the ball, rarely under threat, but also unable to kill the game. And once again, Ronaldo became the central figure. He headed from inside the six yard box and saw the ball blocked, won a foul that would have been a penalty if not for a marginal offside, attacked the near post, the far post, the edge of the box, always offering solutions.
There is one moment that perfectly sums up Cristiano’s game. In the 72nd minute, he chased down a ball that was practically lost near the byline, controlled it first time with class, protected it, won the foul and still created danger in an area where there was nothing. This does not show up in the statistics, but it shows up in the game. It is technical leadership, it is competitive intelligence.
Al Taawoun tried to take more risks in the final 20 minutes, pushed their lines higher, made changes, but never truly tested Bento. Al Nassr controlled the game more through positioning than through high pressing, consistently closing passing lanes whenever Al Taawoun had the ball.
Post-match
This was one of those games where people will talk about the narrow scoreline and Cristiano’s lack of a goal, but that is a lazy reading. Ronaldo played a complete game, even with a low Sofascore rating. The goal was missing, yes, but everything else was there: movement, decision making, leadership and constant presence in the game.
Al Nassr continue to win more than they convince, and that is a problem if they truly want to fight for the title until the end. There was a lack of fluency and perhaps a lack of creativity between the lines, real and effective creativity.
It was not a historic night, it was not a game for endless highlights, but it was a night of pure professionalism. And sometimes, in league football, that is what keeps a team alive and dreaming. Al Nassr are now five points behind Al Hilal.
Al Taawoun, in my opinion, offered very little resistance to Al Nassr. I expected more from a team that has been receiving praise for its success in the league so far, but today did not show what it has usually shown.