Al-Nassr continued their bid to win the Saudi Pro League, but only after scoring THREE times in 15 minutes of added-on time.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were moments away from humiliation in Riyadh, as they trailed to an Al-Batin side who had won only once all season. But after the officials decided on an initial 12 minutes of injury time, the title chasers found a trio of goals to turn the game on its head.
Ronaldo went into the game in the midst of a stunning run of form which has seen him score eight times in his first five Al-Nassr appearances. Last time out he scored a hat-trick, helping him clinch the Player of the Month award in the competition.
But it was a different story against Al-Batin on Friday, who are cut away at the bottom of the division and seemingly destined for relegation. The visitors took the lead after 17 minutes at Mrsool Park Stadium, after Renzo Lopez’s goal was allowed to stand after a VAR check.
And the score remained that way for the rest of normal time, with Al-Nassr failing to find parity on a night of frustration. Ronaldo in particular cut an annoyed figure, waving his arms at teammates and firing a series of dangerous free-kicks well over the bar.
The game looked to be heading towards a shock result, with Al-Batin relatively comfortable in the latter stages. However, after 12 minutes went up on the official’s board, the momentum quickly changed.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored an equaliser in the 93rd minute, with Ronaldo opting to not celebrate with the rest of the Al-Nassr players. He was clearly more interested in a winner, which came in the 102nd minute of action when Mohammed Al-Fatil fired a crisp strike into the bottom corner.
That goal sparked wild scenes of celebration, with the normally reserved Rudi Garcia running 20 yards onto the field of play in elation. And two then became three moments later as Mohammed Maran made it 3-1 in the 14th minute of added-on time.
The stoppage time came as a surprise to many viewers, who struggled to pick out the lengthy pauses in action. Al-Batin’s deflated players clearly felt the same and several had to be escorted off the pitch as they made their feelings clear to the officials.
Ronaldo didn’t seem to care however, he went around every Al-Nassr player to congratulate them on a win which took them back to the top of the table. The three points sees Ronaldo’s side leapfrog Al-Ittihad at the summit, clear by two points.
It was by no means a vintage Ronaldo performance on an individual basis though. For just the second league game since his move, he failed to register a goal involvement and it was his lesser-known colleagues who were the heroes.
Next up for Al-Nassr is a top-of-the-table clash with Nuno Espirito Santo’s Al-Ittihad on March 9 - a game which will go a long way to deciding the destination of the Saudi top flight title.
