Jhon Duran was sent off – much to the fury of Cristiano Ronaldo – as Al-Nassr’s seven-match unbeaten run in the Saudi Pro League came to end as Al-Ettifaq scored two late goals to win 3-2 in Riyadh.
Duran, who had scored twice in each of his first two league games for Al-Nassr following his January move from Aston Villa, was dismissed in second-half injury time for brushing his hand on the head of Al-Ettifaq substitute Abdulelah Al Malki, whose theatrics saw the Colombian red-carded.
Ronaldo, who had a quiet night, reacted with anger, remonstrating with the officials before kicking the ball from the centre spot off the pitch.
How Ronaldo reacted to Duran’s red card. Robbery pic.twitter.com/C75oE1qRlb
— Trey (@UTDTrey) February 21, 2025
It completed a frustrating outing for Stefano Pioli’s men who were undone by two goals from former Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Gini Wijnaldum.
Wijnaldum’s first cancelled out the opener from Aidan Yahya before Mohammed Al Fatil restored Al-Nassr’s advantage.
Al Fatil scored at the other end with eight minutes to go and Wijnaldum popped up with the winner seven minutes later to complete the turnaround.
The win continues Al-Ettifaq’s fine form under new boss Saad Al-Shehri. Since Al-Shehri replaced Steven Gerrard at the helm, Al-Ettifaq have won three out of four Pro League games to climb to ninth in the table.