February 06, (THEWILL) — Al-Nassr extended their winning run to six matches in the Saudi Pro League after defeating Al-Ittihad 2-0 at Al-Awwal Park. Sadio Mane converted a late penalty before Angelo sealed the points in stoppage time, moving the hosts to within one point of league leaders, Al-Hilal.
The victory came without Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed his second consecutive fixture amid ongoing uncertainty regarding his future at the club. Mane stepped up in the 41-year-old’s absence, scoring from the spot in the 84th minute after Mohammed Barnawi was penalised for handball when attempting to block Aiman Yahya’s effort.
Jorge Jesus’ side controlled proceedings throughout, with Mane forcing an early save from Predrag Rajkovic following a deflected attempt. Joao Felix tested the visiting goalkeeper from distance, whilst Mane fired over from Kingsley Coman’s cutback during a period of sustained pressure.
Al-Ittihad had their best opportunity when a VAR review examined whether Mohamed Simakan had handled the ball inside the area, but the referee chose not to award a penalty. The visitors failed to register a single shot following Mane’s spot-kick.
Angelo completed the scoring in the 96th minute, racing from his own half on the counter-attack before slotting past Rajkovic.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
