A match that signified the development of Cristiano Ronaldo 's team's season, as they managed to qualify for the most prestigious tournament of the season , which allows the winner to play in the Club World Cup.
So much so, that it was a complicated match against a rival from the Arab Emirates that had a great opportunity to pass in the elimination round and eclipse a team that continues to add reinforcements to dispute each competition of the season.
New reinforcements
In the last few days it has been made official through its website the signing for 60 million euros of the 28-year-old player, Otavio. A player who occupies the position of midfielder and brings physicality and experience in the Portuguese league to support the team.
Meanwhile, one of the best central defenders of the Spanish national team, Aymerick Laporte. The Arab club has reached an agreement with Manchester City for 30 million to acquire his services and add a center-back to the team's defense.
They join the signing of Fofana, Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozovic to fight for the Asian dream in a league that has been picking up in level with the large number of players that have been signed throughout the summer market.
A thrilling game
In the first half, Luis Diaz 's team was able to create more scoring chances with a much more combinative game than the Dubai team. In a first set piece from a corner it was Anderson Talisca who scored the first goal 11 minutes after the start.
In the 17th minute, a defensive lapse on the part of the Portuguese star's team gave wings to the rival with a goal by Al Ghassani, totally unexpected according to the result of the match. This is the big problem for Luis Diaz's team. Then, the offensive work of Sadio Mané, Anderson Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo generated many dangerous chances.
In the second half, Al Ghassani once again surprised by connecting a through ball that overcame the entire defense and in a one-on-one left Al-Nassr's dreams of playing in the Asian Champions League on the ro pes.
Everything was decided in stoppage time, with Sultan's header tying the match and everything indicated that it would be penalties until a new goal by Anderson Talisca from a set piece and the final goal by Marcelo Brozovic with an assist from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Refereeing controversy
Despite the poor results in the Saudi Arab ian professional league , they qualified along with Al Hilal to play in the Asian Champions League, one of Cristiano Ronaldo 's greatest challenges since his arrival to the Arab team.
There were two clear penalties that were not given in favor of Luis Diaz 's side for no apparent reason. Even with VAR he was unable to call out a clear handball on Cristiano Ronaldo's shot. With his hands in an unnatural position he cut the trajectory of the shot.
In another move, a dribble between two from the 7 and a perfect cutback that could have left him alone in the box was cut off by the direct collision of one of the defenders who did not allow him to pass and neither did the referee see a clear penalty that could have given Al-Nassr some breathing space.
In spite of this, Cristiano Ronaldo 's team went through the direct play-offs and entered the Asian Champions League group. The man of European records is back in style and time will tell if he can once again show his best in the Asian competition.