Talisca at the double as Al-Nassr go second

RIYADH: Anderson Talisca fired Al-Nassr into second in the Roshn Saudi League with two goals in a 3-1 win at Al-Fayha on Saturday, a 13th victory in 14 games in all competitions for the Yellows.

The win means Al-Nassr are four points behind leaders Al-Hilal and, at the moment, appear the only team capable of stopping the Blues from claiming title number 19. The start of the season, and successive losses, feels like an age ago.

There is still a long time to go this season, but the win showed that there was little fatigue from that epic 4-3 win over Al-Duhail of Qatar in the Asian Champions League on Monday.

While Al-Fayha almost took the lead through Fashion Sakala inside the first 30 seconds of the match, Al-Nassr did most of the pressing as they looked to go forward.

It was no surprise that the visitors were full of confidence and attacking intent given their recent form. Perhaps the only eyebrow-raiser was the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo, the top scorer in the league, did not add to his season tally of 11.

Coach Luis Castro will not be too bothered, as his team is showing that it can score without the five-time Ballon D’or winner — even if his assists have been crucial, too.

Ronaldo did his utmost to put the team in front and saw a shot saved by Vladamir Stojkovic just after the half hour. The Portuguese star had head in hands seconds before the break, as his cross from the right was pushed out by the Serbian goalkeeper into the chest of the onrushing Abdulrahman Ghareeb, with the ball bouncing back off the post.

Al-Fayha, who lost 4-1 at the UAE home of Al-Ain on Monday, were delighted to have been keeping their opponents goalless, but the deadlock was finally broken five minutes after the restart as Al-Nassr moved up a gear.

Ronaldo was inevitably involved and while the assist was not as spectacular as some have been recently, his pull-back to the edge of the area laid it on a plate for Talisca, who picked his spot on the left side of goal and guided his shot there perfectly. The pair, along with Sadio Mane, who had a goal ruled out for offside, have an understanding that is improving by the game.

Ten minutes later and the Brazilian extended his team’s lead and his own impressive goalscoring form  — six in the last eight — with one of the best headers seen in Saudi Arabia or Asia — or anywhere else. Alex Telles pinged a cross from the left and, standing near the penalty spot, Talisca rose majestically to nod the ball powerfully into the bottom corner.  The only downside is that he limped off before the end.

It seemed as if that was game over, but the hosts had other ideas and pulled a goal back just five minutes later. It was a simple goal to concede from coach Castro’s point of view. Abdelhamid Sabiri floated over a free-kick and Hussain Al-Shuwaish was there first to head home from close range.

After 74 minutes, however, Otavio intervened to restore Al-Nassr’s two-goal advantage in spectacular fashion. The former FC Porto man picked up the ball just outside the area and curled a shot into the top corner to give Stojkovic no chance. 

There was no coming back from that, and the Al-Nassr winning machine rolls on with Al-Hilal firmly in their sights. 

Elsewhere, Al-Shabab stay in the lower reaches of mid-table after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Abha.