Sadio Mane opened his Al Nassr account in the Saudi Arabian Pro League but it ended in a 2-1 defeat against Al-Ettifaq on Monday.
Al Nassr were fresh off winning the Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday, defeating Saudi rivals Al-Hilal 3-1. They took an early against Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq when Mane connected with Ali Al Hassan’s pass and finished off from close range.
It remained 1-0 to Al Nassr until the 47th minute when goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi let the ball slip from his grasp from a corner kick and Robin Quaison was there to pock home from close range and equalise for Al-Ettifaq.
It became 2-1 to Gerrard’s side six minutes later when Franco-Malian forward Moussa Dembele scored from close range as well.
Mane played for the entire 90 minutes as the lead forward as Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was missing from the squad.
Mané’s first goal ???????? pic.twitter.com/Ll9eqAZ7AE
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) August 14, 2023
In other Saudi Pro League results on Monday, reigning champions Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Raed 3-0 away from home. Morocco forward Abderrazak Hamdallah and Igor Coronado (brace) found the back of the net. The game saw former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema feature, providing the assist for Hamdallah’s goal. Former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho also featured.
Hat-trick hero ????
Malcom started the #RoshnSaudiLeague on fire ????#yallaRSL pic.twitter.com/laAi51n9N4
— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) August 14, 2023
Al-Hilal claimed a 3-1 win at Abha FC. Malcom banged in a hat-trick for Al-Hilal while Tunisian midfielder Saad Bguir scored the solitary goal for Abha.
Finally, Al-Shabab and Al-Akhdoud played out a 1-1 draw. Andrei Burca scored for the latter while Ahmed Abdou scored for the former.
