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Fans on Twitter believe that Sadio Mane carried Cristiano Ronaldo after Al-Nassr defeated Al-Shorta 1-0 to secure their place in the Arab Club Champions Cup final today (August 9).
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr faced Iraqi club Al-Shorta in the Arab Club Champions Cup semi-finals at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium. The Portugal superstar came into the fixture in fine form, having scored three goals in his last four appearances in the same competition.
The Knights of Najd dominated possession, with 64% of the ball compared to Al-Shorta's 36%. Moreover, they had 15 shots (with five shots on target) in contrast to the opposition's six (with three being on target).
Despite their domination, the game remained in the balance until the 75th minute. Al-Nassr's newest addition, Sadio Mane, was brought down in Al-Shorta's box. After a VAR review, the Knights of Najd were given a penalty, which Cristiano Ronaldo cooly converted.
Al-Nassr held their lead to secure an integral 1-0 win. However, fans were quick to compare the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo to Sadio Mane. The latter had a phenomenal game and delivered a man-of-the-match performance, being rated 8.7 on Sofascore.
Mane made six successful dribbles, completed four accurate long balls, and won 12/16 of his ground duels. Moreover, he created two big chances and completed three key passes. The Liverpool legend also won the penalty which enabled his side to win the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo struggled more in the game and was given a rating of just 6.8, as per Sofascore. He lost possession 11 times, missed two big chances, completed none of his crosses, and made just 39 touches during the whole game.
Fans reacted on Twitter upon seeing this:
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr will play the winner of Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab in the Arab Club Champions Cup on August 12.
Sadio Mane reveals he rejected former Liverpool teammates to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr
Liverpool legend Sadio Mane recently revealed that he rejected former teammates Fabinho and Roberto Firmino after they tried to convince him to join Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad respectively.
Instead, the Senegal skipper decided to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in a €40 million move from Bayern Munich. He signed a four-year deal at the club and made his debut against Zamalek in the Arab Club Champions Cup on August 3, drawing 1-1.
Mane said (via Arab News):
“I think first of all I spoke with Firmino for sure; I think he wanted me to come to the wrong club — I’m joking! He always called two or three times to convince me to come to Al-Ahli."
He added:
“At the same time, I spoke with Fabinho because he was quite close to me and he also wanted me to come to Al-Ittihad, but in this time when Al-Nassr came, I chose Al-Nassr."
"Of course, Henderson is here also, and he sent me a message two days ago to wish me good luck and I’m excited to meet all these great guys and also to meet them face to face for the first time. I’m going to win against you guys!”
Mane has made three appearances for Al-Nassr so far and will be aiming to score his first goal for the club in the Arab Club Champions Cup final.
