Cristiano Ronaldo scored late to fire Al-Nassr to a comfortable 2-0 win over Al-Fayha and seal a quarter-final berth in the AFC Champions League.
It was one-way traffic right from the start at Al-Awwal Stadium as Al-Nassr dominated possession, with Marcelo Brozovic pulling the strings from a deep-lying position in midfield. And they did not have to wait for long to break the deadlock as Otavio headed home an inch-perfect cross from Al-Khaibari in the 17th minute.
Although Ronaldo took his time to make his presence felt, once he warmed up, he was right in the thick of things. He was clamouring for a penalty after he was brought down inside the box by two Al-Fayha players before being denied by the woodwork, which had risen highest in the penalty area.
Al-Nassr pushed on in search of their second of the night following the break, and Ronaldo did find the net, but he was flagged offside after he mistimed his run by a fraction of a second.
However, with just four minutes from regulation time, the prolific forward put the tie to bed by finally getting his name on the scoresheet. A half-baked clearance from goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic ricocheted and fell kindly for Ronaldo, who simply rolled the ball into a gaping goal to seal a 3-0 victory over the two legs for the Knights of Najd against their domestic rivals.
A late goal was the icing on the cake for Ronaldo, who came agonisingly close on a couple of occasions on the night. After emerging as the difference-maker in the first leg with an 81st-minute winner, the 39-year-old once again proved to be a handful for Al-Fayha defenders throughout the 90 minutes. Despite being denied by the frame of the goal and the offside flag, he kept asking questions and was finally rewarded for his perseverance late into the night.
Al-Fayha goalkeeper Stojkovic must shoulder his fair share of blame after his team was knocked out of the continental competition. He could have done better with his legs to save Otavio’s header and was again indecisive with the clearance that led to Al-Nassr’s second of the night. A performance to forget for the Serbian shot-stopper.
Al-Nassr will now shift focus to their domestic commitments as they are set to host Al-Shabab next in the Saudi Pro League on Sunday. They are chasing leaders Al-Hilal, who are seven points ahead of them in the title race and can hardly afford to slip up.
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