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Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a late winner as Al-Nassr were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Raed on the opening day of the Saudi Pro League.
Mohammed Fouzair equalized with a penalty early in the second half, canceling out Ronaldo’s first-half goal at Al Awal Park on Thursday.
Al-Nassr dominated the early stages of the match. When Al-Raed struggled to clear a corner, Ronaldo leaped above everyone in the box to head in Sadio Mane’s delivery.
However, Al-Nassr found themselves on the backfoot shortly after halftime. Amir Sayoud’s curling shot was saved, but Fouzair was pulled down by Aymeric Laporte while trying to reach the rebound, leading to Laporte initially receiving a straight red card. After a VAR review, the card was changed to a yellow, and a penalty was awarded to Al-Raed. Fouzair converted the penalty, finding the bottom-right corner with ease.
Al-Nassr continued to press for a winner, with Talisca striking the post and Ronaldo having a goal disallowed for offside with just under 15 minutes remaining. Ronaldo had curved his run behind the defense to poke past Meshari Sunyur, who had been impressive in goal, but the forward was offside.
As a result, Al-Nassr missed the chance to join Al-Taawoun at the top of the table after their win earlier on Thursday.
Following a setback in the Saudi Super Cup last weekend, Al-Nassr were eager to start the league campaign with a win. They came close, dominating the match with 28 shots compared to Al-Raed’s seven, and generating 2.18 expected goals.
Ronaldo now has 36 goals in the Saudi Pro League and was narrowly denied a 37th goal on a frustrating day for the hosts.
