Al Kholood 0-3 Al-Nassr: Report, result and goals as Ronaldo and Co. cut gap to three points

Al-Nassr moved three points behind Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal as they cruised to a 3-0 win at Al Kholood.

The visitors were frustrated by an obdurate Al Kholood side in the first half, but made sure of a comfortable victory with three second-half goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a tap-in just two minutes into the second period, before Mohamed Simakan doubled the Al-Nassr lead with a superb header.

Things got worse for Al Kholood when captain Hattan Bahebri was sent off for elbowing Simakan off the ball.

That ended the game as a contest, but Kingsley Coman added gloss to the scoreline late on with a confident penalty. Al-Nassr leapfrog Al-Ahli Saudi into second place in the table on goal difference.

Sadio Mane looked to put Al-Nassr in front late in the first half, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside against the impressive Joao Felix, the Portuguese straying offside as he latched onto Coman’s pass down the right channel.

Felix then hit the crossbar early in the second half, before teeing up his compatriot Ronaldo to break the deadlock.

Sadio Mane and Angelo Gabriel linked up neatly on the edge of the box following good work from Felix, who continued his run down the left to receive the ball from Angelo and square for Ronaldo to tap in.

Simakan doubled the lead six minutes later, meeting Felix’s near-post corner with an unstoppable header.

Felix then forced Juan Pablo Cozzani to tip over the crossbar with an audacious rabona finish that almost produced a stunning goal.

Bahebri’s loss of composure made the task even harder for the hosts in the 72nd minute, and a quarter of an hour later, Coman rounded off the victory, converting after he was fouled by Ramzi Solan just inside the area.