Quinones scores and assists as Al Qadsiah turn the tables on Al Nassr

Al Qadsiah came from behind to hand Al Nassr their first defeat of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season and draw level on points with them in the league table.

In front of 18,471 fans at Al Awwal Park, the home side almost took the lead inside 53 seconds when Otavio intercepted the ball inside the Al Qadsiah half and fed Cristiano Ronaldo in the visitors’ penalty area. The club captain looked to drill the shot with his left but was denied by an exceptional save from the feet of Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

Al Qadsiah responded in kind as Cameron Puertas fired in a left-footed effort from just outside the area, the ball taking a deflection off Al Nassr midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and requiring fine flexibility from goalkeeper Bento to tip it away.

Otavio continued to be the beating heart of Al Nassr’s midfield, once again delivering an exquisite pass in behind the defence; this time the recipient was right-wing Angelo, who aimed for the bottom far corner, but his shot went just wide.

The home crowd had already begun to celebrate when Sadio Mane dribbled past two defenders and sent a drilled ball across the goalmouth to Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who had the goal at his mercy from three yards. However, the Saudi Arabian national team player inexplicably botched his finish and sent the ball over the crossbar.

Despite leading RSL in clean sheets with six going into the game, Al Qadsiah’s Casteels was left red-faced when, in the 32nd minute, he failed to deal with Angelo’s cross from the right, spilling the ball into the path of Ronaldo , who made no. error to sweep home his seventh goal of the campaign to open Al Nassr’s account on the night.

However, it only took five minutes for the away team to restore parity. Some clever footwork by Turki Al Ammar down the left was followed by a precise cross that was expertly brought down by Julian Quinones, with the Mexico international half-volleying into the net to make it 1-1.

Buoyed by his fifth goal in nine RSL games, the forward picked up where he left off in the second half. Quinones showed his quality to meet Nahitan Nandez’s diagonal ball with a first-time effort at the far post, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang waiting with a diving header into the empty net to seal the win for Al Qadsiah.

Coach Michel’s men could have extended their lead further on the hour mark when Puertas teed up Aubameyang with a lovely back pass, but the Gabon international’s strike was saved by Bento.

At the other end of the pitch, Casteels recovered from his uncharacteristic mistake to deny Angelo and Ronaldo, the latter’s left-footed shot coming in the very last minute of nine minutes of added time. The Belgian’s save ensured a first league defeat for Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli, leaving Al Hilal as the only unbeaten side in the competition ahead of their clash with Al Khaleej on Saturday.

The result adds fuel to the already burning fire at the top end of the RSL table. Al Qadsiah join Al Nassr on 22 points, with Al Shabab in fourth, separated only on goal difference. Al Qadsiah are now on a four-match winning streak, their longest in the Pro League era.