RIYADH: The Riyadh derby between Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab headlined Matchday 16 of the Saudi Pro League with a thrilling five-goal encounter, as Al-Nassr edged their city rivals 3-2 to snap a four-match winless run.
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Al-Nassr made a blistering start, asserting their dominance inside the opening 10 minutes with two quick goals. Within two minutes, the hosts exploited a gap in the Al-Shabab defence as a low cross intended for Cristiano Ronaldo was intercepted by Saad Balobaid, who inadvertently bundled the ball into his own net.
Eight minutes later, Nawaf Boushal, Angelo and Kingsley Coman combined down the left flank to carve open the defence. Wesley met the resulting cross and cushioned the ball into Coman’s path with his chest, allowing the French winger to double Al-Nassr’s lead with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
At that stage, Al-Shabab appeared stunned and struggled to create clear chances, with their only real threat coming down the right flank through Saudi youngster and former Al-Ittihad winger Hammam Al-Hammami.
