Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad clinch crucial victory over Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr

The Saudi Pro League leaders defeated Al-Nassr, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, 2-1 at King Abdullah Sport City. Karim Benzema nearly scored twice before the 20th minute, giving the home team the advantage in the Saudi Pro League match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr, which started slowly. Bento's heroics and an offside strike during the build-up, however, prevented the game from scoring the opening goal of the evening.

As Ronaldo tried to establish himself at King Abdullah Sport City, Sadio Mane appeared to be Al-Nassr's most effective striker. The Senegalese attacker, however, got one-on-one against Predrag Rajkovic and deceived the keeper with a feint but was unable to get a shot off, missing a crucial opportunity for Al-Nassr.

Al-Ittihad increased their pressure in the second half, and Benzema's goal past Bento gave the Saudi Pro League leaders the lead. However, Ronaldo's goal after a well-executed cross into the box ended the advantage's duration.

Steven Bergwijn's goal in stoppage time for Blanc's team reversed the tide of the match, creating the gap between them and Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League by 11 points. They now sit fourth in the rankings, behind Al-Hilal and Al-Quadisiyah, as a result of their loss. They need other results to go in their favour if they want to stay in the fight to win the title.

Cristiano Ronaldo kept quiet by Al-Ittihad

As Ronaldo was silent for the majority of the match, Al-Ittihad defender Danilo Pereira was the finest player on the field, packing into the backline for Laurent Blanc's team. The Al-Ittihad defender had three successful interceptions and one clearing off the line at the end of the game.

As Blanc's team controlled all the important statistics throughout the match, Stefano Pioli's lack of ideas was evident and his influence on Al-Nassr has not been as great according to what the Saudi Pro League team had hoped. Following the conclusion of the winter, Al-Nassr will play their next match on January 9 at Al-Awwal Park against Al-Akhdoud.