Cristiano Ronaldo and Kingsley Coman were on target as Al Nassr took a huge step towards the Saudi Pro League title with a 2-0 win over Al Ahli.
Following Al Hilal’s win over Damac on Tuesday, the onus was placed back on Jorge Jesus’ side, who faced a tough task against an Al Ahli side in joyous mood after winning the AFC Champions League Elite title on Saturday.
But, after struggling to trouble the Al Ahli goal in the first half, Ronaldo put the league leaders in command in the 76th minute when he broke the deadlock with a fine header.
And Coman made sure of a 16th league win in a row with a vicious 90th-minute finish, which preceded ugly scenes at the end of the game as Al Nassr moved eight points clear of Al Hilal having played a game more. Al Ahli are 13 points behind with five games left, with their hopes of claiming the domestic title effectively extinguished.
Al Ahli had the better of the first half, with Bento forced into a strong save to keep out a Merih Demiral header and Galeno, who was taken off on a stretcher in the second half following a collision with the Al Nassr goalkeeper, bending wide of the far post.
Edouard Mendy saved smartly from Ronaldo at the other end, but Al Nassr did not start to offer a consistent threat until the second half.
Joao Felix fired narrowly over the crossbar shortly after the restart, but fittingly it was Ronaldo who sent the home fans into raptures by flicking home from Felix’s near-post corner.
Coman then made the points safe by lashing home after Al Ahli failed to clear from a corner, though tempers nearly boiled over after the Frenchman’s very rash foul on Demiral deep into stoppage time.
Al Nassr will look to move closer to the title when they face Al Qadsiah on Sunday.
