Al-Nassr were the more dominant side right from the off and were close to breaking the deadlock within the first 15 minutes of the contest. In the tenth minute, Cristiano Ronaldo had the first chance to open the score. He attempted a right-footed effort on goal after receiving a feed from Angelo Gabriel, but Paulo Victor was unimpressed.
After three minutes, the Portuguese player might have wasted the easiest opportunity of the match when he was given a pin-point cross by Angelo. The seasoned attacker tried a close-range attempt for the first time, but Victor stopped the ball once more.
At the end of the first half, an unmarked Sadio Made found the back of the Saudi Arabian team, breaking the tie.
However, Paolo Victor, a Brazilian custodian, denied him. Victor was Rayyan’s shrewd presence in goal until Sadio Mane broke through the defence with a header in stoppage time in the first half, after a cross from Sultan Al-Ghannam.
After the half, Rayyan played a more cohesive defence that kept the hosts under control for the majority of the match by severing their flanks and making them adopt a narrower strategy.
Two minutes into the second half, Ronaldo headed a through ball into the box and appeared to have scored. However, the linesman raised the flag, and the on-field referee disallowed the goal following consultation with the VAR.
His time in the sun almost come.
With just five minutes left in normal playtime, Rayyan attacked against the flow of play and got Nassr in serious trouble.
Roger Guedes received a low cross from Achraf Bencharki on his right, who deftly sidestepped Nassr’s defence to tuck the ball in the 87th minute. After the score, Rayyan kept upping the onslaught, but Nassr’s custodian Bento stood his own to prevent any hopes of a late equaliser.
With the victory, Rayyan dropped to second from bottom in the group rankings, while Nassr shot up to third. Four days later, Nassr will host Al Orobah to kick off the Saudi Pro League regular season.