Al-Nassr succeeded in achieving a hard-fought victory against Al-Fayha, winning 1-0 in the match held this Wednesday evening in the Round of 16 of the AFC Champions League. The Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the match in the 82nd minute, after a through ball from Brozović inside the penalty area, which Ronaldo converted with a shot to the left of the goalkeeper into the net. With this win, Al-Nassr placed one foot in the quarter-finals of the Asian championship, awaiting the return match at "Al-Awl Park" in Riyadh on the 21st of this month.
Al-Nassr started the match with strong pressure in attempts to score an early goal, with players calling for a penalty in favor of Talisca. The first 15 minutes of the first half saw intense pressure from Al-Nassr players to breach Al-Fayha's defense, but without any danger to the rival's goal.
The first threat from Al-Nassr came in the 16th minute when Brozović executed a cross into the penalty area, meeting Laporte's head. However, the attempt went just past the right post. Al-Fayha threatened Al-Nassr's goal in the 21st minute when player Sultan Mandash tried to challenge goalkeeper Raghid Najjar, only for the referee to call offside due to his position behind Al-Nassr's defense.
In the 33rd minute, Brozović delivered a cross from the left side to Al-Nassr's penalty area, which reached Octavio, but he shot wide without any threat to goal. Al-Nassr's player, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, received the first yellow card of the match in the 37th minute after a strong challenge on Al-Fayha's Sultan Mandash.
Ronaldo missed a chance to advance when, in the 45+1 minute, he shot a powerful ball from inside the penalty area, but the Al-Fayha goalkeeper successfully blocked it. Al-Nassr's Octavio fell to the ground in the 50th minute due to injury after being hit in the head by a left-footed shot from Brazilian player Talisca, leading to medical assistance.
A dangerous opportunity for Al-Nassr came in the 54th minute when Brozović delivered a precise cross inside the penalty area, turned into a powerful header by Laporte, which just missed the right post out of bounds. In the 58th minute, Al-Fayha made two substitutions: Sultan Mandash was replaced by Henry Onyekuru, and Rakan Kabi was replaced by Abdul Hamid Sabiri.
In the 61st minute, Ronaldo attempted a left-footed shot from inside the penalty area, but the ball hit the defense and went out for a corner. In the 64th minute, a cross came to Ronaldo's head, but Al-Fayha’s goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic successfully saved the shot.
A clear goal chance came in the 66th minute when Al-Nassr's player Ayman Yahya delivered a cross that Talisca attempted with an acrobatic shot, but it went just past the left post. In the 75th minute, Al-Fayha’s coach made his third substitution, replacing Anthony Nwakaeme with Khaled Kabi. Shortly after, in the 77th minute, the referee showed a yellow card to Al-Fayha defender Hussein Al-Shuwaish after a strong challenge on Al-Nassr’s Sultan Al-Ghannam.
After relentless pressure from Al-Nassr players, the star Cristiano Ronaldo managed to score the match's opening goal in the 81st minute with a right-footed shot after a precise pass from Marcelo Brozović. In the 82nd minute, a yellow card was issued to Al-Fayha’s Abdul Hamid Sabiri, and a minute later, Al-Nassr's coach Castro made his first substitution, taking off Octavinho and bringing on Sami Al-Najjai.
Al-Fayha's coach made his fourth and fifth substitutions in the 84th minute, taking off Mohammed Al-Baqaawi for Osama Al-Khalaf and Nawal Al-Harathi for Muhannad Al-Qaidy. The referee issued a yellow card to Al-Nassr’s Raghid Najjar for time-wasting in the 85th minute, followed by Al-Nassr’s second substitution, as Ayman Yahya was replaced by Abdulaziz Al-Alawi.
