Cristiano Ronaldo produced a man-of-the-match performance as Al Nassr beat Qatari side Al-Duhail 4-3 in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday. Al Nassr captain Ronaldo - making his third appearance in the tournament - scored two excellent goals with his left foot.
The 38-year-old also provided a stylish assist for Talisca, while Sadio Mane netted Al Nassr's other goal. Former Liverpool and Aston Villa playmaker Philippe Coutinho played the full 90 minutes for Al-Duhail.
Talisca opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a slick turn and finish after collecting a back-heeled pass from Ronaldo. Mane made it 2-0 after the Al-Duhail keeper had made a mess of an attempt to gather a cross 11 minutes into the second half.
Ronaldo then scored himself just after the hour mark with a fabulous left-footed strike from 25 yards. Al Nassr appeared to be cruising at 3-0 but goals from Ismaeel Mohammad and captain Almoez Ali gave the away side hope of completing a memorable comeback.
Ronaldo fired Al Nassr back into the comfort zone in the 81st minute when he aimed a first-time volley past the Al-Duhail keeper following an angled cross from Sultan Al-Ghannam.
But Al-Duhail hit back again when Kenya international Michael Olunga scored to close the gap to just one goal once more. However, Al Nassr held on for a victory and now have nine points from the first three rounds of fixtures in Champions League Group E.
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