AFC Champions League Group Stage: Al Shorta vs Al Nassr – On a night when superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the lineup, Al Nassr had to settle for a draw at Al Shorta’s home ground in their AFC Champions League opener.

On the night of September 16 (Vietnam time), Al Nassr faced Al Shorta in the AFC Champions League group stage. Despite being without the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr initially looked in control, taking the lead in the early minutes.

Before the first half had even reached its midpoint, right-back Sultan Al Ghannam, standing in as captain in Ronaldo’s absence, fired a precise diagonal shot that left Al Shorta’s goalkeeper with no chance, putting the visitors ahead.

With the early lead, it appeared that coach Luis Castro’s men were on track to dominate the match. However, their complacency soon proved costly.

In the 24th minute, a lapse in defensive coordination allowed Al Shorta striker Mohammed Dawood to capitalize. Faced with only the keeper to beat, Dawood finished clinically, restoring parity and bringing the match back to 1-1.

Al Nassr accepted to share points at home at Al Shorta. Photo: Getty

Not stopping there, the away team continued to show confusion when they received a penalty kick in the 40th minute after a foul in the penalty area. However, after consulting VAR, the referee withdrew the intention to blow the penalty, because the foul occurred outside the penalty area.

This was also the last notable situation before the two teams entered the break.

In the remaining 45 minutes, the two teams could not maintain the fast pace of play compared to the first half. The match was constantly delayed by fouls, and the biggest mark was the situations where the referee pulled out yellow cards for players of both teams.

In the end, Al Nassr was held to a 1-1 draw at Al Shorta’s home ground, and both teams had to settle for just one point.