{"id":1911,"date":"2026-02-07T17:25:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2026-02-07T17:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:25:41","slug":"al-nassr-march-on-without-ronaldo-as-mane-and-angelo-sink-al-ittihad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/07\/al-nassr-march-on-without-ronaldo-as-mane-and-angelo-sink-al-ittihad\/","title":{"rendered":"Al-Nassr march on without Ronaldo as Mane and Angelo sink Al-Ittihad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Al-Nassr proved there is life beyond Cristiano Ronaldo, displaying tactical discipline and clinical efficiency to dispatch Al-Ittihad 2-0 and showcase their impressive collective strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo<\/strong><\/a> at their disposal, Al-Nassr<\/strong><\/a> produced a commanding display<\/strong> to defeat Al-Ittihad 2-0<\/strong><\/a> in a high-octane derby. The victory was forged through competitive maturity and clinical efficiency, as the hosts demonstrated the patience and organisation required to break down a stubborn opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contest burst into life with an aggressive Al-Ittihad<\/strong> side pressing high and winning a succession of early corners. The visitors looked to exploit the explosive pace of Moussa Diaby<\/strong> and the aerial threat of Youssef En-Nesyri<\/strong>, but they found an Al-Nassr<\/strong> backline in resolute form, with Simakan<\/strong> and Inigo Martinez<\/strong> expertly managing the space behind the defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the first half progressed, Al-Nassr<\/strong> began to dictate the tempo. Brozovic<\/strong> pulled the strings in midfield, while Joao Felix<\/strong> drifted between the lines to link play with creative flair. On the flanks, Kingsley Coman<\/strong> and Sadio Mane<\/strong><\/a> were a constant menace, forcing Predrag Rajkovic<\/strong> into several vital interventions to keep the scores level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite openings at both ends, the sides headed into the interval deadlocked following a half characterised by high physical intensity<\/strong> and a flurry of fouls. VAR was called into action to review a potential penalty for Al-Ittihad<\/strong>, but the officials ultimately opted against awarding the spot-kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Nassr<\/strong> emerged for the second period with renewed vigour, dominating possession and forcing the visitors into a defensive shell. Mane<\/strong> twice went close to breaking the stalemate, while Joao Felix<\/strong> tested the keeper from range as Coman<\/strong> continued to torment his marker with direct, one-on-one running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visitors’ resistance finally crumbled in the 82nd minute<\/strong> when a handball in the area<\/strong> gifted the hosts a penalty. Stepping up under immense pressure, Sadio Mane<\/strong> showed no nerves<\/strong>, coolly dispatching the ball into the bottom corner to assert<\/strong> his side’s authority at a pivotal moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the advantage secured, Al-Nassr<\/strong> managed the closing stages with tactical intelligence, squeezing the play and waiting for the chance to strike on the break. Deep into stoppage time, the knockout blow arrived: Nawaf Bu Washl spearheaded a lightning counter-attack<\/strong> before squaring for Angelo<\/strong><\/a>, who arrived late on the right to seal<\/strong> the points with a clinical left-footed finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final whistle confirmed a deserved victory, built on patience<\/strong> and poise, in a match that highlighted Al-Nassr<\/strong>‘s impressive squad depth. Even in the absence of Ronaldo<\/strong>, the team delivered a statement of intent: the collective remains strong, competitive, and ambitious<\/strong>, regardless of who leads the line. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Al-Nassr proved there is life beyond Cristiano Ronaldo, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1913,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions\/1913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}