Al Kholood 0-3 Al-Nassr Highlights, Saudi Pro League: Ronaldo On Target As Al-Alami Demolish 10-Man Hosts

Hello, football fans! This is the start of our live blog covering Al-Nassr’s match against Al Kholood. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and line-ups as they are released.

• Fixture: Al Kholood vs Al-Nassr, Matchday 19

• Series: Saudi Pro League 2025-26

• Venue: King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Buraida

• Date: Friday, January 30, 2025

• Time: 11:00 PM IST

• Live Streaming: Fancode

Starting XI: Juan Cozzani; Ramzi Sawlan, Norbert Gyomber, Mansour Camara, Shaquille Pinas, Muhammad Sawan; Hattan Bahebri (c), Kevin N'Doram, John Buckley, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwaa; Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Mohammed Mazyad Alshammari (gk), Muhannad Al-Yahya (gk), Jamaan Al Dawsari, Sultan Al Shehri, Abdulrahman Al Dosari, Adam Berry, Majed Khalifah, Odai Abdulghani.

Starting XI: Bento; Sultan Al-Ghannam, Inigo Martinez, Mohamed Simakan, Saad Fahad Al Nasser; Sadio Mane, Ali Al-Hassan, Angelo, Kingsley Coman; Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo (c).

Bench: Nawaf Al-Aqidi (gk), Salem Alnajdi, Nader Al Sharari, Nawaf Boushal, Ayman Yahya, Haroune Camara, Mohammed Khalil Marran, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Rakan Al-Ghamdi.

Referee Abdullah Al-Owaidan blows his whistle, and the first half is underway in Buraidah.

Brilliant goal-line save from Camara!! A long ball from Al-Nassr's caught the Al Kholood defenders by surprise, and Felix did well to hold off against the goalkeeper. The ball falls to Ronaldo, who has an empty net in front of him. However, his shot is blocked off the line by the young defender.

Al-Nassr's goalkeeper almost shot himself in the foot. The ball was played behind to Bento, and he failed to get the ball under his control. With an Al Kholood forward charging him, the goalkeeper is forced to clear it at the nick of time. Jorge Jesus looks irritated on the touchline.

After Al Elewai forced a save from Bento with a swinging free-kick, Al-Nassr break at the other end with pace. Felix makes his way into the box before trying to curl one in towards the top corner, but it hits the horde of bodies and goes behind for a corner.

Coman wins a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Felix floats in towards the middle of the box. Simakan jumps over his marker and heads it down towards the bottom corner. Cozzani does very well to get down and get a strong hand to parry it behind.

With six minutes of added time announced by the fourth official, Al Kholood are forced into a change. Gyomber looks to have done his hamstring, and he is brought off for Al-Dosari.

Mane had put the ball into the back of the net, but it's ruled out instantly due to offside, which VAR confirms after a quick check. The six minutes of added time are over, and it's still goalless in Buraidah.

Al-Nassr have been toothless, and Karim Benzema's much discussed self-imposed exile is surely hurting their attack. In case you missed it, Benzema has made himself unavailable after a contract dispute.

Al Kholood, led by former Mumbai City FC manager Des Buckingham, will be extremely happy to shut out their opponents.

Both sets of players are out on the pitch, and Al Kholood get the second half underway. No changes at the break from either side as far as I can see.

Ronaldo puts Al-Nassr ahead!! Moments after Felix hits the crossbar, the visitors come forward again. It's a flowing move in the Al Kholood box, with Angelo finding Felix. The latter cuts it back for Ronaldo to taip into an empty net. Easy as you like it.

A fantastic corner is floated into the middle of the box, and Simakan leaps to bury the ball into the back of the net with a bullet header. That's his first league goal of the season, and he kisses the crest on his jersey to celebrate.

With the contest all but wrapped up, Al-Nassr make a double change. Mane comes off for Abdulrahman Ghareeb, while Nawaf Boushal replaces Al Nasser.

Out of nowhere, Simakan goes down in a heap during an off-field incident. VAR asks the referee to take a look at the incident for a possible red card.

Replays show that Bahbri had the slightest of nudges with his elbow against the centre-back. It certainly doesn't look like much, but the referee opts to show a straight red card to the Al Kholood skipper.

Solan clattered into the back of Coman, and there's a huge penalty shout. VAR asks the referee to take a look at the incident, and he points to the spot. Coman steps up to take the spot kick and makes no mistake, sending Cozzani the wrong way.

The referee blows his whistle to confirm a commanding victory for Al-Nassr. This is their third straight league win, cutting down the lead at the top to just three points.