da bet vitoria： Al-Nassr's other star, Talisca, scored a brace to overcome a tricky Al-Shabab side in a game of defensive mishaps and attacking carelessness.
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Al-Nassr win nervy 3-2Talisca steals the show with braceAl-Nassr move within four points of topTELL ME MORE
In a back-and-forth match reminiscent of a basketball game, Talisca inspired Al-Nassr to snatch all three points at the death.
Al-Nassr took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo after 20 minutes. Sadio Mane’s speculative effort struck Iago Santos, who inexplicably had raised his arms high and wide of his body. Ronaldo made no mistake in thundering the penalty into the bottom left corner.
Al-Shabab’s Yannick Carasco – who was perhaps fortunate to escape with just a yellow card after a VAR check – tucked home a penalty to equalise in first-half stoppage time after Aymeric Laporte’s clumsy challenge on Carlos Junior.
Right at the start of the second period, Otavio found Talisca free in between the Al-Shabab defenders and he had time to take a touch out of his feet and fire at goal. Despite the shot being hit close to him, Mohammed Al Absi could only get a weak hand to the effort and parry it into the net.
The home side threatened Al-Nassr frequently with Romain Saiss’ direct passing causing issues beyond the opposition defence. Their pressure would eventually tell as Hugo Diallo’s cutback was dispatched by Carlos Junior midway through the second half.
Both teams continued to attack, and with the game looking like it was heading for a stalemate, Abdullah Alkhaibari played Talisca through to poke home and clinch three precious points for Al-Nassr with just four minutes left on the clock. There was still time for Abdullah Radif to be sent off for a second yellow card deep in stoppage time after a ridiculous dive trying to win a penalty.
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Talisca was the standout performer throughout the 90 minutes, constantly causing the Al-Shabab defence headaches with runs through the middle of the pitch. The Brazilian's two goals capped an impressive performance and earned his side three points. When the sides looked unable to be separated, Talisca stepped up.
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Talisca now has 15 goals and assists in as many games in the Saudi Pro League. The Brazilian may be overshadowed by his captain Cristiano Ronaldo, but his contribution cannot be overlooked.
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Laporte will be relieved that Talisca could bail out what could have been an incredibly costly mistake. The Spanish international was caught out by Junior's diagonal run and fell over trying to catch the Brazilian. As he fell Laporte sliced down the Al-Shabab forward and gave away a clear penalty, despite his protests. The sides went into the break at 1-1 and the Spain international is lucky he wasn't punished for his error.