Cristiano Ronaldo is rested for Al-Nassr’s King Cup tie after weekend winner but his side put five past Ohod with Sadio Mane on the scoresheet
- Ronaldo, who is the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, was given the game off
- Mane netted a penalty in what was ultimately a comfortable 5-1 win for his side
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Cristiano Ronaldo was absent for Al-Nassr on Monday evening as they eased past Ohod in the King Cup, winning 5-1.
The Saudi Pro League top goal scorer was granted a game off in cup action and his side didn’t miss the Portugal star as they put five past their opponents, despite an early scare.
Despite Ronaldo’s absence, Al-Nassr named a side featuring a number of well-known stars, including former Premier League men Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles and Sadio Mane.
Ohod, who play in the second tier of the Saudi Arabian football pyramid, had pegged back their opponents in the first half, but the second proved too much for them as the Pro League side ran riot.
It was Mane who opened the scoring in the game, with Seko Fofana, Talisca, Ayman Yahya and Sami Al-Najei also netting for the side.
Sadio Mane (left) netted for Al-Nassr as they beat Odoh in the Saudi Arabia King Cup on Monday evening
The side secured a 5-1 win despite the score being brought back to 1-1 after they had taken the lead in the game
Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the game but will likely be back for the weekend’s match
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Mane had almost scored in the opening 10 minutes of the match after latching onto Talisca’s flick, but had the opportunity to strike from the sport when Abdulrahman Ghareeb was tripped by Abdulrahman Al-Khaibari.
The former Liverpool man made no mistake and fired low into the bottom left in the 16th minute to give his side a deserved lead and continue his fine start to life in the Middle East.
The lead didn’t last too long, however, with Konrad Michalak latching onto a long ball to lift an effort over Nawaf Alaqidi and level things up, triggering jubilant celebrations from the hosts.
Ronaldo is the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League with nine goals in seven matches so far
In the second half, however, AL-Nassri ran riot with Fofana making it 2-1 just after the hour mark with a fine strike from outside the area.
Talisca’s header then put the game to bed, before Yahya and Sami Al-Najei finished off the scoring to secure their side’s sport in the next round of the competition they reached the semi-finals of last year.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, will likely return to the squad for the weekend game against Al-Ta’ee following his rest on Monday.
The forward has netted nine goals this season with his side winning their last five matches following back-to-back defeats at the start of the campaign.
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