· 2 min readIn this Al Ittihad vs Al Nassr match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Al Ittihad and Al Nassr came into this game as two of the biggest forces in the Saudi Pro League, although at different moments. Ittihad are looking to compete for the major titles again, while Nassr, the current champions, continue to show enormous attacking power, but far too many defensive problems. And playing at Ittihad’s stadium is never easy.
The start was almost perfect for the home side. In the 4th minute, a cross into the box found Bergwijn, who struck it with power, and Al-Aqidi made a great save. The ball hit the post and fell to Ilenikhena, who reacted first and headed it into the net. 1-0. Nassr looked completely lost defensively, especially Salem Al-Najdi, who only reacted when the striker was already in a scoring position.
And the problem became even bigger. Ilenikhena even scored again shortly afterwards, but the goal was ruled out for a very narrow offside. However, the 20-year-old did not give up and, in the 22nd minute, appeared again. Aouar put the ball behind Simakan, Ilenikhena anticipated him once again and, already in the air, stretched his leg to finish. 2-0. Al Ittihad dominated everything and Nassr looked like a small club.
In the 35th minute, they still had only one shot, Ronaldo’s, from the very beginning of the game.
But Ronaldo decided to appear. In the 36th minute, he received the ball from Ângelo and, with absurd quality, lifted the ball over the defence for Félix. The Portuguese took the shot, Rajkovic saved it, but the ball remained loose and Ângelo appeared on the edge of the box to score. 2-1. Great work from Ronaldo and, suddenly, Al Nassr were alive.
After that, the away side grew considerably. Within a few minutes, they went from being completely dominated to being the best team on the pitch. The problem was still the defence, disorganised and clearly feeling the absence of the injured Iñigo. Even so, Nassr went into half-time with hope.
In the second half, Ittihad had to deal with injuries and also handed Richard Rios his debut, while Nassr lost Coman, who spent several minutes clearly playing while limited. Nassr had the ball, but started to overuse crosses, from one side to the other, without being able to find different solutions.
In the 78th minute, Al-Hamdan came on and Nassr began playing with two strikers, in a clear attempt to look for the equaliser. But creativity was missing. Even with 14 corners, the team could not create a truly clear opportunity.
Until, deep into stoppage time, Mané received the ball completely alone in front of the goalkeeper. He tried to lift it over Rajkovic, but hit him in the head. It was the chance to equalise and Mané had to score.
Post-match
Al Ittihad won 2-1 and inflicted the champions’ first defeat. Ilenikhena was the standout player, Ronaldo still tried to pull Nassr into the game, but the defensive problems and lack of attacking solutions in the second half ultimately proved decisive.
