"What a player," "Playing like his life defends on it" - Fans hail Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr teammate for incredible performance against Al-Ahli
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr as they claimed a hard-fought 4-3 win over rivals Al-Ahli in their meeting. The win for Al-Alami was their seventh in a row, and took them up to fifth in the league standings, three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad.
Al-Nassr showed great determination and spirit to hold off Al-Ahli in a battle of the league's biggest stars. The win came as a result of a complete team performance, with all of their big names playing their roles perfectly.
Cristiano Ronaldo may have found the net twice and got the fans at the stadium screaming his name, but another player received rave reviews. Former Manchester United defender Alex Telles enjoyed a brilliant performance for Al-Nassr from his left-back position.
Alex Telles was responsible for keeping Riyad Mahrez and Gabri Veiga quiet for most of the game. The Brazilian made a couple of goal-saving interventions, including one to deny Allan Saint-Maximin an equaliser at 2-1. He won two tackles in the game and completed 44 passes for his side as well.
Fans of the club took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice their opinions on the defender's performance in the game.
A group of fans praised him for the level of performance he put in, and the kind of approach he had to the game.
"Telles what a player, giving his all"
"Telles playing like his life depends on it rn"
A fan wondered if he was the same player that represented Manchester United in the past due to the level he showed.
Another fan praised his defensive work and his overall display for the side in the win.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr send out timely warning
After losing their first two games of the season, many fans wrote off Al-Nassr, thinking they would not challenge for the title. Since then, they have won five straight games in the league, but the win over Al-Ahli was the most significant.
Like Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli is controlled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and was able to recruit stars this summer. Though newly promoted, they boast of the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Saint-Maximin, Roberto Firmino, Franck Kessie, Veiga, Edouard Mendy, Merih Demiral, and Roger Ibanez.
They are also one of the most successful clubs in Saudi football history and have a young, vibrant manager in Matthias Jaissle.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for his side in the fourth minute before Anderson Talisca added his name to the scoresheet in the 17th.
Kessie pulled one back for Al-Ahli (30') before a goal from Talisca (45+6') restored the two-goal cushion. Mahrez scored a penalty (50') before Cristiano Ronaldo scored (52') to once more restore the two-goal lead for his side. Firas Al-Buraikan scored a late third goal (87') for Al-Ahli but it wasn't enough.
Ronaldo's side will look forward to meetings with the other two PIF teams, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad this season. Both teams occupy the top two spots in the league and will provide stern tests for them.