Ronaldo-less Al Nassr Fall Further Behind in The Title Race in 4-4 Draw Against Al Hazem Despite Talisca Hattrick
With Cristiano Ronaldo serving his one-match ban for obscene gestures to Al Shabab fans, Thursday night was a chance for his teammates to step up and claim the three points against relegation strugglers Al Hazem. Instead, the match ended up an 8-goal thriller, with Al Nassr sharing the spoils with Al Hazem despite winning two penalties.
Anderson Talisca proved himself up to the task of filling Cristiano’s boots with a brilliant hatrick. He opened the scores in the 31st minute when he converted from the penalty spot. The rest of the first half was uneventful, with both teams failing to take any meaningful action in the opposition box.
In the second half, Al Hazem equalized in the 53rd minute with a well-taken goal from Ahmad Al Mhemaid. Talisca responded for Al Nassr in the 61st minute and restored the home side’s lead. Within 5 minutes, Al Hazem had equalized through a Toze goal. Talisca once again restored Al Nassr’s lead in the 71st minute, making it 3-2. The hatrick puts Talisca’s goal tally in all competitions at 25, 3 less than Ronaldo’s 28.
Al Hazem was in siege mode and continued trying to break down the Al Nassr defense and was successful in the 84th minute through a Faiz Selemani equalizer. The home side looked set to secure the three points when Sadio Mane converted from the spot in the 4th minute of added time. However, a lapse in concentration led to an Al Hazem equalizer in the 99th minute. The draw means Al Hilal (59) is now six points clear of Al Nassr (53) with a game in hand.
