Ronaldo, Mane in goal feast as Al Nassr tame Al Ittihad
Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané scored two goals each as Al Nassr overcame an early deficit to beat Karim Benzema and Al Ittihad 5-2 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.
Abderrazak Hamdallah opened the scoring for the hosts, but Ronaldo’s penalty and a goal from Anderson Talisca put Al Nassr back in front before the break. Hamdallah scored again after the interval, but Ronaldo converted a second penalty and Mane added two late goals to seal an easy three points for the visitors.
Ronaldo’s second successful penalty came after VAR determined that Fabinho had fouled Otavio in the area, with the former Liverpool player seeing yellow for the second time in a matter of minutes and being sent off.
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Mane, who moved to the Saudi Pro League from Bayern Munich in the summer, sealed the deal for Al Nassr with a pair of goals in the 75th and 82nd minute.
Despite the win, Ronaldo and Al Nassr sit seven points back in the SPL table behind Al Hilal, who have yet to lose a game in the league this season.
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Mane will be getting ready to head home in the New Year as Senegal get set to defend the AFCON title they won in Cameroon last year, beating Egypt captained by Liverpool talisman Mohammed Salah in the final. Senegal are drawn in Group C of next year’s AFCON to be hosted by Cote d Ivoire, against Cameroon, Gambia and Guinea. Teranga Lions will open their campaign against Gambia on January 15 at the Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro.