Sadio Mane proved decisive as Al Nassr came from behind to seal a fifth successive win against Al Fayha and their Nigerian stars without Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane proved to be the star as Al Nassr came from behind to win for the fifth successive time in the Saudi Pro League.
Mane scored a fantastic brace as Al Nassr overcame a slow start to thrash their visitors Al Fayha 3-1 in a league match on Friday night.
During their time at Liverpool, Firmino and Mane formed a deadly attacking trio alongside Mohamed Salah, propelling the Reds to Premier League and Champions League glory.
Manchester United midfielder and former Cristiano Ronaldo teammate Casemiro has drawn comparisons between the Portuguese and Kylian Mbappe.
Mane shines in Ronaldo’s absence
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo was expectedly missing in action following his suspension but he was hardly missed thanks to his teammates led by Mane.
Al Nassr were made to dig deep for the victory after Al Fayha took a shock first half lead following a wonderfully worked goal by their African stars, Nigeria’s Anthony Nwakaeme and Fashion Sakala.
Nwakaeme set up Zambian forward Sakala as early as the sixth minute to hand Al Fayha an unlikely lead before Mane missed from 12 yards three minutes to the break.
However, after the break, the Senegalese superstar atoned for his earlier miss as Al Nassr turned on the style with three goals in nine minutes to completely turn things around and in their favour.
Abdulelah Al Amri fired the equaliser in the 72nd minute before Mane put Al Nassr ahead for the first time in the match four minutes later.
The former Liverpool man then wrapped things up with a fantastic solo goal eight minutes from time to earn his club the win and all three points.
Mane has now scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 27 matches for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League this season.
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