Al Nassr 1-2 Al Qadsiah: Report, result, goals as Cristiano Ronaldo’s side lose again in Saudi Pro League

Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr face a potentially crucial Saudi Pro League trip to leaders Al-Hilal on Monday after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his club’s worst run of the season continued with a shock home defeat to Al Qadsiah at Al-Awwal Park.

Mexico forward Julian Quinones pounced on a dreadful goalkeeping error by Nawaf Al Aqidi to give former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers’ new team the lead in the 51st minute, putting Al-Nassr on course for a second consecutive defeat as part of a three-match winless run.

Quinones then capitalised on more hapless defending to break inside the box on the right and tee up Mateo Retegui, Al Aqidi pushing the Italy international’s shot to the feet of Nahitan Nandez to smash in from close range.

Ronaldo scored his 14th goal of the season nine minutes from time by curling in a low penalty after Jehad Thikri was adjudged to have handled, but the team who had won their first 10 league matches of the season now face the prospect of falling seven points off the pace if they lose against their neighbours.

Al Nassr vs Al Qadsiah: Ronaldo suffers again

Al Aqidi gifted Al Qadsiah their first goal, racing out to near the halfway line and chipping an absurdly casual attempt at a pass against the onrushing Quinones, who charged to the unguarded net and slotted in.

Visiting goalkeeper Koen Casteels was then forced off by a clumsy challenge by Angelo after the Al-Nassr winger had overhit the ball, requiring a delay of around seven minutes.

Replacement Ahmed Al Kassar had scarcely familiarised himself with his penalty area before Nandez smashed in at the other end.

Al-Qadsiah, who rose to fourth as part of a promising start for Northern Irishman Rodgers, were aggrieved by the ruling against Thikri – confirmed by a Video Assistant Referee check – but held on for 11 minues of added time to secure an upset.

With Al-Hilal beating Al-Hazm 3-0 at home earlier in the day, Al-Nassr are now four points behind Simone Inzaghi’s team, who are on a 10-match winning run.

Al Nassr team vs Al Qadsiah

Saudi Arabia forward Mohammed Maran was on the bench and had been told to find another club because Al-Nassr are bringing in Al-Hilal’s Abdullah Al-Hamdan, according to Al-Riyadh.

Left-back Saad Al Nasser came in for Abdullah Al Khaibari in their one change. Forward Sadio Mane was at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 with Senegal.

Portugal forwards Joao Felix and Ronaldo remained the top scorers in the Saudi Pro League with 13 goals each but neither had netted in the 3-2 defeat at Al-Ahli six days earlier, with centre-back Abdulelah Al Amri bagging both of their side’s goals.

Al-Nassr starting XI: Nawaf Al Aqidi, Sultan Al Ghannam, Abdulelah Al Amri, Inigo Martinez, Aiman Yahya, Angelo, Marcelo Brozovic, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Kingsley Coman, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix

Al-Nassr substitutes: Bento, Nader Al Sharari, Mohammed Marran, Ali Al Hassan, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Awad Aman, Haroune Camara, Wesley, Saad Al Nasser

Al Qadsiah team vs Al Nassr

Al-Qadsiah made two changes, bringing in midfielder Ali Abdullah Hazazi and defender Thikri. Yasser Al Shahrani was on the bench and Musab Al Juwayr was not in the squad from the 4-0 home win over Riyadh four days earler.

Former Al-Nassr playmaker Otavio was injured.

Al-Qadsiah starting XI: Koen Casteels, Mohammed Abu Al Shamat, Nacho, Jehad Thikri, Gaston Alvarez, Ali Abdullah Hazazi, Nahitan Nandez, Julian Weigl, Christopher Bonsu Baah, Mateo Retegui, Julian Quinones

Al-Qadsiah substitutes: Ahmed Al Kassar, Turki Al Ammar, Abdullah Al Salem, Yasser Al Shahrani, Saif Rashad, Hussain Al Qahtani, Ibrahim Mahnashi, Mohammed Al Thani, Qassem Lajami