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Cristiano Ronaldo provided the assist for Sadio Mane's opener for Al Nassr against Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League on Friday (August 25) with a stunning backheel pass.
Al Nassr have made a poor start to the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League season, losing their first two games against Al Ettifaq and Al Taawoun. They are determined to claim their first three points of the campaign against Slaven Bilic's Al Fateh side in Al-Ahsa.
Sadio Mane, who arrived from Bayern Munich for €30 million earlier this summer, opened the scoring for Al-Aalami in the 27th minute of the game. The Senegal international combined with captain Cristiano Ronaldo to put Luis Castro's side on course to register their first league win of the season.
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Ronaldo, therefore, registered his first goal contribution of the league campaign. The Portuguese icon ensured that he set up Mane for the goal in style, putting the former Liverpool forward through on goal with a sleek backheel pass. Watch the video of the goal here:
It is worth noting that Marcelo Brozovic, one of Al Nassr's six major signings this summer, also played an important role in setting up the goal. The Croatian passed the ball to Ronaldo before the five-time Ballon d'Or winner found Mane, who found the back of the net with a neat chip.
Al Nassr fans will hope that this is the first of many occasions where Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane combine to score for the club. The pair did not have a joint goal participation despite playing together against Al Taawoun and Shabab Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League respectively.
Cristiano Ronaldo added to Sadio Mane's goal
Cristiano Ronaldo doubled Al Nassr's lead 11 minutes later, finding the back of the net with a header. The superstar headed the ball into the net after getting on the end of a cross from Sultan Al-Ghannam. He, thus, grabbed his first league goal of the season.
The former Manchester United superstar recently led the Riyadh-based club to Arab Club Champions Cup glory. He bagged six goals in as many games for Luis Castro's side in the tournament. His major contribution was netting a brace in their 2-1 win against Al Hilal in the final.
Cristiano Ronaldo will now look to guide Al Nassr to glory in the Saudi Pro League along with the likes of Sadio Mane. They face stiff competition from Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Ahli, who have made blockbuster additions to their ranks this summer.
