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Georginio Wijnaldum starred in Al Ettifaq’s 3-2 win over Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League as Jhon Duran was shown a red card.
Saudi Pro League:
Georginio Wijnaldum helped Al-Ettifaq beat Al-Nassr (X)
Al-Nassr lost to Al Ettifaq in their Saudi Pro League 2024-24 match at the Al Awal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Georginio Wijnaldum scored a superb curler from outside the box in the 89th minute to decide the encounter.
Ayman Yahya opened the scoring in 47th minute as he headed in Sadio Mane’s pinpoint cross but Wijnaldum equalised after the break, in the 55th minute, as the former Liverpool man latched onto a mistake from Al Nassr defender Mohammed Al Fatil. Despite a VAR check, thanks to an offside call, the goal stood.
The in the 65th minute, defender Al Fatil made up for his mistake in the equaliser, jumped the highest to meet a corner and hand Al Nassr the lead again.
But Al Fatil was not done for the night as he turned the ball into his own net for an own goal in the 81st minute when he tried defend a cross from Jack Hendry.
Wijnaldum though broke the heart of the home fans with a stunning strike just minutes from full time.
Head Slap Earns Red Card For Jhon Duran
An apparently light slap earned Colombia forward Jhon Duran a straight red card in just his fourth match for Al-Nassr.
Duran was signed in January from Aston Villa for a reported 64 million pounds ($80 million) and scored four goals in his first two league appearances.
But on Friday in stoppage time, while play seemed to have stopped, he appeared to give a glancing slap to the back of the head of Ettifaq midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki. Al-Malki dropped and rolled on the ground.
The referee issued a red card despite the protests of teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al-Nassr loss ended their seven-game unbeaten streak and leaving the team eight points behind leader Al-Ittihad, which has a game in hand.
(With inputs from Agencies)
- Location :
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
