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Al-Nassr fans hailed Sadio Mane on X after he scored a brilliant brace to help his side defeat Al-Feiha 3-1, despite being without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed their Saudi Pro League clash at the Al-Awwal Stadium on Friday (April 19) due to his one-game suspension. He was sent off in their 2-1 defeat against Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals for violent conduct.
Al-Feiha took a shock lead after Fashion Sakala scored in the sixth minute. Mane had a golden opportunity to level the scores in the 42nd minute, however, he blazed his penalty way over the bar.
Al-Nassr regrouped in the second half and were rewarded for their dominance when centre-back Abdulelah Al-Amri netted in the 72nd minute. Mane made up for his earlier miss with a heroic double in the 76th and 82nd minute to seal all three points for his side. Sakala was sent off in the 88th minute.
The former Liverpool superstar was adjusted to be the Player of the Match and was given a match rating of 9.0, as per FotMob. He created 33 out of his 38 passes with an accuracy of 87 percent, created four big chances, won seven duels, and landed five shots on target. However, the 32-year-old did miss a penalty and failed to score from four big chances as well.
Mane has now scored 17 goals and provided nine assists in 39 appearances across all competitions this season. One fan reckons Al-Nassr don't require Cristiano Ronaldo's services anymore, posting:
"Who needs Ronaldo?,when you have sadio mane"
Another fan wrote:
"Sadio mane stepping up for the team"
Other fan reactions can be viewed below:
"Sadio Mané carrying Al Nassr as usual. Too easy for this man!"
"This was the Liverpool version of Sadio Mane", one fan claimed
"He shushed the haters fair play", another fan posted
"Sadio Mane to his haters :", one fan pointed out
"FT - Player Ratings - MOTM - Sadio Mane", one fan wrote
"Sadio Mane Carrying Al nassr doesn’t get talked much about. The PR for Ronaldo isn’t even worth it, he doesn’t turn up in big games", one fan boldy claimed
Al-Nassr assistant coach gives verdict on win against Al-Feiha despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo
Al-Nassr assistant coach Vitor Severino praised his players after they made it five Saudi Pro League wins in a row with a 3-1 win against Al-Feiha. They put in a good performance despite being without talisman and skipper Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al-Nassr dominated the game, with 64 percent possession. They also landed 28 shots in total with 12 being on target. In contrast, Al-Feiha had just 36 percent possession and mustered just five shots with two being on target.
In the post-match press conference, Severino said (via @TheNassrZone):
“Al-Nassr controlled the entire match... and always evaluated the match according to the result... and we conceded a goal at the beginning due to a wrong stance on the counter... and my message to the players at half-time was that we created many opportunities and their performance was outstanding."
“The numbers speak. Today, we fired 28 shots at Al-Fayha’s goal and only conceded two shots on target”
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr will next be back in action against Al-Khaleej on Saturday, April 27.
