Sadio Mane made his debut for Al-Nassr on Thursday, but it was Cristiano Ronaldo who grabbed the headlines in typical emphatic way by scoring a key late goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late equalizer to send Al-Nassr into the Arab Club Champions Cup quarter-finals, relegating Sadio Mane to a supporting role on his debut.
Mane left Bayern Munich earlier this week to join Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, and manager Luis Castro chose him as a replacement for his new team’s match against Egyptian side Zamalek on Thursday. After coming in at halftime, the ex-Liverpool man was unable to bring Al-Nassr back into the game after they fell behind to a 53rd-minute penalty in their third and final Group C match.
But Ronaldo accomplished what Mane couldn’t in the 87th minute, finding space in the penalty box to expertly head home left-back Konan’s perfect cross. With the goal, Al-Nassr qualified as group runners-up to Al-Shabab and will meet Moroccan side Raja Casablanca in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Mane congratulated his 38-year-old teammate for his heroics after the game, enthusiastically posting on Instagram: “Une nouvelle page s’ouvre [a new page opens]!!! Congratulations on your aim, @cristiano!!! The new round has begun. Thank you, @alnassr fans, for your incredible support.”
Ronaldo’s equalizer was the 840th goal of his remarkable career, and he’s regaining form ahead of the upcoming Saudi Pro League season. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner now has two goals in as many starts in the Arab Club Champions Cup, and he also scored the game-winning goal for Portugal against Iceland away from home during Euro 2024 qualification over the summer.
It was Ronaldo’s 200th international appearance, and he now has a far stronger club team to back him up. Al-Nassr have bolstered their title hopes by signing Mane, Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, Lens’ Seko Fofana, and Manchester United defender Alex Telles, as Saudi teams make an attack on the European transfer market.
Mane, 31, had only spent one season with Bayern after leaving Liverpool, where he had spent six years under Jurgen Klopp. Injury wrecked his promising start in Munich, and the Senegal international was forced to miss the World Cup.
Then came a high-profile spat with teammate Leroy Sane, which marked the beginning of Mane’s demise in Bavaria. “We want to thank Sadio Mane for the past season,” Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said after the move.
“It hasn’t been an easy year for him, having suffered an injury just before the World Cup and missing out on a World Cup with Senegal, whom he had previously led to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations triumph and World Cup qualification.”
“Due to the lengthy layoff, he was unable to contribute as much to FC Bayern as we and he had hoped.” That’s why we decided as a group that he should begin a new chapter in his career at a different club.”
