Al Nassr Club staved off a fightback from FC Goa to walk away with a 2-1 win from their AFC Champions League Two 2025-26 Group D tie at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.
The victory kept Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr perfect at the top of the standings while Goa suffered a third consecutive defeat.
Cristiano Ronaldo was not in the matchday squad while Sadio Mane and Joao Felix started on the bench but that didn’t stop Al Nassr from seizing immediate control of the tie.
The Saudi Pro League side saw early attempts from Angelo, Wesley and Aiman Yahya denied but Goa could do nothing about Al Nassr’s opener in the 10th minute.
An exchange of passes following a throw in saw Angelo Damaceno with a clear sight on goal, with the Brazilian’s sizzling shot from just outside curling past the despairing Hrithik Tiwari.
The Indian side were struggling to gain possession and Al Nassr made their dominance count again in the 27th minute from a fine team passing move which saw the ball landing at Haroune Camara’s feet.
The Goa defenders failed to clear and the forward displayed coolness to slot home from the edge of the six-yard box.
Forced to adopt a more aggressive approach, Goa began to venture forward and reduced the deficit with their first shot on target in the 41st minute.
Having robbed the ball just inside the Al Nassr half, Dejan Drazi released Brison Fernandes – who had come on in the 24th minute following an injury to Javi Siverio – with the midfielder side-footing the ball into the net.
Goa, however, failed to build on the momentum after the break while Al Nassr, while seeing most of the ball, couldn’t find the third goal they were seeking.
As the visiting side became increasingly frustrated, head coach Jorge Jesus sent on Mane and Felix but it was Goa who should have drawn level just moments later.
A clever pass from Fernandes released Boris Singh who sent his tame effort straight at Al Nassr custodian Bento Krepski in the 67th minute.
That was to be Goa’s best chance at salvaging something from the match with the Indian side reduced to 10 men in stoppage time following a red card for Timor Sva.
AFC Media
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