Al Hilal take 7-point lead in Saudi Pro League following big win over Ronaldo's Al Nassr

The Serbian pairing did the job for the Saudi Pro League leaders

Top-of-the-table teams Al Hilal and Al Nassr faced each other in the Saudi Pro League 2023-24 season. This was the final match at the King Fahd International Stadium before the stadium renewal.

Al Hilal secured a 3-0 win and extended their lead to seven points after 15 matches. Al Nassr were unable to score against the best defensive side in the league.

Both teams were strong in the midfield and defence. That led to a goalless first half. The second half started slowly until Milenkovic-Savic headed Abdulhamid’s cross past Al Nassr’s keeper Al-Aqeedi. Al Hilal’s Serbian midfielder netted his fifth goal in the Saudi Pro League and Abdulhamid provided his third assist of the season.

Aleksandar Mitrovic stole the show after scoring a brace towards the of the match. He scored a header from a corner kick delivered by Al Dawsari. The Serb then got to the end of his countrymen’s pass to score his second and Al Hilal’s third goal of the match.

Both teams started with a strong team. Aleksandar Mitrovic led the frontline for the home team and already had 11 goals in 12 appearances. He was supported by Malcom, Michael, Al Dawsari, Nevez, Milnkovic-Savic and Koulibaly.

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Cristiano Ronaldo led Al Nassr and was supported by Mane, Otavio and Talisca in the attack. Fofana and Brozovic were in the heart of the midfield and Telles aided Laporte in the defence. Both teams had some of the best football players from across the globe.

The first half ended goalless and both teams had only one shot on target. Al Nassr had more possession of the ball but both teams failed to create chances in the half. Telles was subbed in the 37th minute and Otavio received the only booking in the first half.

After a slow start to the second half, the league leaders broke the deadlock through Sergej Milenkovic-Savic. This was an end-to-end match after the first goal. Ronaldo & Co. tried to break Al Nassr’s tight defence and were denied a possible penalty. Mitrovic scored two goals to seal the deal for the league leaders.

Al Hilal’s Ali Al-Bulaihi received a red card after controversially celebrating in front of Al Nassr fans. Six players were booked in the last 30 minutes of the match. Al Hilal are now on 41 points in 15 games and Al Nassr will remain second on 34 points.

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