Mané stars as Al-Nassr beat Al-Ettifaq 3-2 in Saudi Pro League

Sadio Mané scored twice as 10-man Al-Nassr recovered from two goals down to defeat Al-Ettifaq 3-2 in the Saudi Pro League. The comeback came after Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at half-time, leaving Mané to lead the visitors’ response.

Al-Nassr’s problems began in the 12th minute when goalkeeper Bento was sent off for bringing down Moussa Dembélé outside his penalty area. Angelo Gabriel was taken off so reserve goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi could enter the match.

Al-Ettifaq took advantage of the numerical advantage in the 31st minute. Ondrej Duda opened the scoring with a finish into the top corner, before Álvaro Medrán struck from distance in first-half stoppage time to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Al-Nassr made another major change during the interval, with Ronaldo removed and Abdullah Al-Khaibari introduced in his place. The change added midfield protection, while Mané became the main attacking threat as the visitors attempted to recover despite playing with 10 men.

The Senegal forward reduced the deficit in the 74th minute after João Félix found him with a through-ball. Félix then created the equaliser three minutes later, delivering the corner that defender Abdulelah Al-Amri headed into the net.

Al-Nassr completed the turnaround in the final minute of normal time. Sami Al-Najei released Mané, who finished the counter-attack for his second goal. A VAR check followed, but the goal was allowed to stand after Mané was judged to have remained onside.

The victory gave Al-Nassr three points from a match in which they had been reduced to 10 players, trailed 2-0 at the interval and lost Ronaldo before the comeback began. Mané’s two goals made him the decisive figure in a result that appeared unlikely after Bento’s dismissal and Al-Ettifaq’s first-half control.