The match between Al Ahli and Al Nassr brought together two of the strongest sides the Saudi Pro League could offer at this stage of the season. Even with important absences on both sides, the individual quality was clear and the competitive context made the clash even more significant. Al Nassr came in as league leaders, under pressure from the close pursuit of Al Hilal, while Al Ahli, playing at home, wanted to make a statement against a direct title contender.
The game starts in chaotic fashion and completely in Al Ahli’s favor. Right in the first minute, Al Nassr are asleep and only avoid conceding by pure luck. That warning quickly turns into reality. Galeno repeatedly exploits Al Nassr’s fragile left side and Ivan Toney opens the scoring in the 7th minute, capitalizing on yet another positioning mistake by Saad Al Nasser. Al Nassr simply do not show up. The high defensive line does not work, the fullbacks are constantly late, and Galeno does whatever he wants. In the 19th minute, Toney appears again, controls the ball with class and makes it 2-0, a perfect snapshot of a completely disconnected Al Nassr side.
When the game seemed to be slipping away for good, an unexpected moment arrives. A long-range shot from Al Amri results in an unbelievable mistake by Al-Sanbi and brings Al Nassr back into the match. Interestingly, that goal awakens Al Amri, who begins to take on more responsibility with the ball. Just before halftime, he himself equalizes with a header after a cross from Brozovic, closing an intense, open and very entertaining first half, despite Al Nassr’s poor defensive level.
In the second half, Jorge Jesus finally fixes the obvious issues on the flanks, but Al Nassr never manage to gain real control of the game. Al Ahli remain comfortable in the chaos and score again in the 55th minute. Toney, once more decisive, delivers a perfect cross from the byline and Demiral appears unmarked in the six-yard box to make it 3-2. From that moment on, Al Nassr fall into poorly organized desperation. They need the equalizer, but attack without ideas, without chemistry in the final third and with constantly wrong decisions.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a clear chance that he wastes, João Félix is completely absent from the game, and Coman never manages to create imbalance. Al Ahli drop deeper, accept defending with numbers and manage the clock intelligently. The match deteriorates in the final minutes, with red cards, confusion, questionable refereeing decisions and a completely out-of-control atmosphere. Nawaf still keeps Al Nassr alive with a great save in stoppage time, but it is already too late.
In the end, the clear feeling is that Al Ahli won because they were more competent, better prepared and more comfortable in decisive moments. Al Nassr lose much more than three points. They lose organization, lose their margin for error and leave the title race completely wide open.
Post-match
Bad game from Al Nassr. The attack did not work. Ronaldo, Félix and Coman were never really connected to the match, created no chemistry and caused no fear. More than 100 minutes of forced attacks. The fullbacks in particular were a problem. All four who featured were poor. Saad Al Nasser and Ghannam had a horrible first half, constantly late, giving away space and switching off in basic situations. Boushal and Yahya did not fix anything either. No team can win a game when the flanks are a constant hole.
Full credit to Al Ahli. They knew exactly what to do. Galeno did whatever he wanted, Toney had his clinical moments, and the team looked far more comfortable inside chaotic scenarios.
Al Nassr with a badly positioned high line, an avoidable red card and a match that ends in total chaos. And worst of all, Al Nassr leave the league even more open. If Al Hilal win their next match, they take the lead. Today it was not bad luck, it was bad choices and terrible execution.