AL NASSR are through to the AFC Champions League 2 semi-finals after beating Al Wasl 4-0 at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.
Ronaldo’s team had won 17 games in a row in all competitions before tonight’s match whereas Al Wasl had only managed three wins out of their last six games. And it did not take long for the visitors to show why they have been unbeatable recently.
Barely 10 minutes into the game, Ronaldo was on the scoresheet. Neat play from Coman down the right hand side found Nawaf Boushal whose cutback found the Portuguese international who calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Al Nassr were not finished. They doubled their lead in the 23rd minute, a perfect corner from Joao Felix was headed home by Iñigo Martínez.
Al Wasl’s night was already over but the visitors were not letting up. No more than three minutes had gone by since their second before Al Nassr had a third. Felix delivered a cross from outside the box which was guided home by Abdulelah Al-Amri, some Al Wasl fans were visibly upset, with others heading home early.
Al Wasl looked to try to spark a come-back, some good play in the midfield found Brahian Palacios with some space, but the Colombian dragged his shot wide of the post.
Early into the second half Al Nassr found themselves in a great position with a dangerous free kick, however Ronaldo’s shot was fired into the wall and his follow up was easily saved by Mohamed Ali in goal.
Al Wasl found themselves with a good opportunity to reduce the deficit with a free kick on the edge of the area. Having just seen Ronaldo fire one into the wall Nicolás Giménez was hoping his effort would be better, however his shot was fired well over the bar.
Al Nassr’s dominance continued in the second half and they were finally rewarded with a fourth goal. Al Hamdan’s through ball found Sadio Mane who rounded the goalkeeper to put Al Nassr into the Semi Final.
Al Nassr will play Al Ahli SC of Qatar in the Semi Finals in Dubai on the 22nd of April as the AFC has organised the knockout stage games to be played in a centralised location following disruptions to the football calendar in the region.
