Al-Nassr squeeze past FC Goa in AFC Champions League despite Ronaldo absence

FC Goa produced one of their most spirited performances of the campaign but fell short, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr in their AFC Champions League Two Group D clash at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday.

Goals from Angelo Gabriel and Haroune Camara put Al-Nassr in control, while Brison Fernandes pulled one back for Manolo Marquez’s side before half-time.

Al-Nassr took the lead inside 10 minutes, pinning Goa deep into their own half with relentless early pressure.

Abdulrahman Ghareeb slipped a clever pass to Angelo on the edge of the box, and the Brazilian winger created space with a deft touch before curling his effort beyond goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari.

The visitors doubled their advantage in the 27th minute through Camara. Angelo again proved instrumental, threading a perfect through ball to Ayman Yahya, who squared it across goal. Goa’s defence hesitated, allowing Camara to turn and fire a low shot into the corner to make it 2-0.

Goa responded just before the interval with a moment of quality. Dejan Drazic drove into the final third before finding the overlapping Brison Fernandes, who cut inside Abdulelah Al Amri and curled a superb finish past Nawaf Alaqidi to ignite the Fatorda crowd.

The second half lacked the same intensity, with Al Nassr controlling possession and limiting Goa’s chances. However, the atmosphere lifted once again when global stars Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman began warming up, eventually entering the match in the 66th minute to huge cheers from the stands.

Despite their best efforts, Goa couldn’t find an equaliser and ended the match with 10 men after David Timor was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for dissent.

The result leaves FC Goa still searching for their first points in Group D, while Al Nassr maintain their perfect start to the competition.