The dream of Indian players to play against Cristiano Ronaldo remained unfulfilled. Al Nassr sent their squad to India without the Portuguese legend. There were questions on whether the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would feature in the ACL 2 group-stage return leg. In the end, head coach Jorge Jesus fielded his team against FC Goa without Ronaldo.
Even without Ronaldo, Al Nassr defeated FC Goa 4–0. On home soil, Manolo Márquez’s men had put up a brilliant fight against the Saudi giants, losing 1–2 in a spirited performance that earned praise. Although Ronaldo did not come, stars like Sadio Mané, João Félix, Iñigo Martínez, and Kingsley Coman played. Goa had stood firm at home, but in Riyadh, they couldn’t replicate that level. As a result, the Indian side suffered a heavy defeat.
Al Nassr launched attacks right from kickoff at midnight IST on Wednesday. In the 5th minute, Wesley dribbled past Aakash Sangwan and moved inside the box, but Goa’s defence stayed alert. In the 10th minute, the Saudi club earned their first corner. In the opening quarter, most attacks came from the left side, with Abdulrahman Ghareeb delivering several low crosses, though none were effective.
In the 20th minute, Wesley created a chance but failed to convert. Four minutes later, Al Hassan’s long-range attempt couldn’t give the visitors the lead. Goa’s defenders stayed tight.
Al Nassr finally scored in the 35th minute through a perfect free-kick from Ghareeb. Goa goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari was left rooted to the spot. They could have doubled the lead minutes later, but Al Hassan’s strike hit the crossbar. The first half ended 1–0.
Al Nassr continued their domination into the second half. In the 53rd minute, Ghareeb doubled the lead. In the 63rd minute, Goa’s Serbian player Dejan Drazic took a shot at goal, but Al Nassr keeper Raghed Najjar wasn’t truly tested. In the 65th minute, Mohammed Maran made it 3–0.
João Félix added his name to the scoresheet in the 84th minute. In stoppage time, Ghareeb missed a golden chance to complete his hat-trick, failing to score despite being one-on-one with Tiwari.
The match ended 4–0. With this victory, Al Nassr climbed to the top of Group D with 12 points from 4 matches. FC Goa remain on zero points and are already eliminated from the competition.
