Ronaldo-less Al Nassr drop points at Al Kholood ahead of Capital Derby | OneFootball

In the absence of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, rested by head coach Stefano Pioli, Al Nassr needed a late Anderson Talisca penalty to rescue a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Al Kholood at King Abdullah Sports City on Friday.

The Portuguese striker was rested ahead of the crucial Capital Derby clash with Al Hilal on November 1st, while the Italian tactician also opted to leave Marcelo Brozovic on the bench.

The hosts took the lead inside 12 minutes when Jackson Muleka took advantage of a quick counter attack, breaking free down the left and squaring for Myziane Maolida who beat his marker and passed the ball into the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.

Al Nassr responded almost instantly when Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s delivery from the corner was nodded on by Ali Lajami towards Aymeric Laporte who headed it in at the far post to restore parity.

Pioli’s men took the lead for the first time on the night when Angelo squared for Sadio Mane whose initial shot from inside the box was parried away by goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe but only as far as Anderson Talisca who applied the finish with his right to make it 2-1.

Once more, Muleka and Maolida combined to find the back of the net for Al Kholood. An attack started by Alex Collado from the left saw Muleka feed Maolida and the Comoros international forward curled into the far corner to ensure the first half ended in a draw.

Things went from bad to worse for Al Nassr as Laporte had to be stretched off with an injury, being replaced by Mohammed Al Fatil and leaving coach Pioli to sweat for the Spanish international centre-back ahead of the derby.

It was more of the same in the second period and substitute Hammam Al Hammami showed exceptional footwork to dance past Ayman Yahya and deliver a low cross towards Muleka who was left with a simple tap-in to put Al Kholood ahead again.

The DR Congo forward went from hero to zero in added time as he handled the ball inside Al Okhdood’s penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the spot, from which Anderson Talisca confidently stepped up and fired home for the equaliser.

A second draw in a row since the arrival of coach Noureddine Ben Zekri sees Al Kholood lifted off the relegation zone, while Al Nassr drop points for the first time under Pioli and will go into Derby Week in third place, three points behind their upcoming opponents Al Hilal.