Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr nearly suffered a shock home defeat before a dramatic comeback that dragged the game to a chaotic end.
Al-Batin traveled to the Mrsool Park Stadium rock bottom of the Saudi Pro League. A win for the relegation-bound club would have been a historic upset in the Saudi Pro League.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League title hopefuls Al-Nassr had slipped to second place to title contenders Al-Ittihad after the latter bagged a win in their last game.
Al-Nassr needed to defeat Al-Batin to return to the summit of the table but it was a dramatic 90 minutes at Mrsool Park Stadium.
Against the run of play, Renzo Lopez fired Al-Batin into the lead just 17 minutes into the game. It was a controversial goal but it was allowed to stand after VAR check.
After Al-Batin took the lead, the rest was history. Al-Nassr struggled to equalise and pull a comeback, all to no avail.
It was another frustrating night for the title hopefuls. Cristiano Ronaldo who had fired 8 goals for Al-Nassr in his last five games, cut a frustrated figure on the pitch blanking in front of goals and waving his hands in frustration at teammates.
Al-Batin had a tenuous grip on the narrow 0-1 lead and held off the Saudi giants until the end of regulation time.
In a shock move by the center referee, 15 minutes of extra time was added after the regulation time.
There were airs of disgruntlement in the ranks of Al-Batin players and staff, including the fans after the referee went for such a lengthy extra time after the game.
Nevertheless, Al-Batin held their breath and fought on hoping to run away with a win from Mrsool Park Stadium.
Unluckily, their hopes were dashed in stoppage-time with Al-Nassr producing a stunning and vintage display that turned the game on its head.
Three minutes into stoppage time, Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored the equaliser for Al-Nassr.
After Ghareeb’s strike, Mohammed Al-Fatil fired the host into the lead in the 102nd minute, with three minutes of stoppage time left.
Al-Fatil’s strike sent the players and staff of Al-Nassr into wild celebrations with Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia running wildly into the pitch to celebrate the goal.
Maran wrapped up the stoppage-time goal harvest with a 104th-minute strike to make it 3-1 for the home side.
It was another disappointing outing for Al-Batin but a late vintage performance by Al-Nassr, thanks to the lengthy extra time by the referee.
After the final whistle, furious Al-Batin players clashed with match officials protesting the lengthy added time.
The security guards quickly stepped in and arrest the simmering chaos, escorting the players and referees off the pitch as tempers began to flare.
Al-Nassr returned to the summit of the Saudi Pro League after the win, but it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s second in six games without a goal.
Video Highlights
Al-Nassr goals 🔥💪💛pic.twitter.com/QXgViGN1nQ
— 🍥 BEDAH H ALDOSSRY (@Bdah10) March 3, 2023
