The image travelling out of Dammam is not of a winning goal. It is Cristiano Ronaldo throwing his captain’s armband to the ground.
He had just been hooked at the interval. In the second half Sadio Mané would score twice to complete a Saudi Pro League comeback that looked out of reach when Ange Postecoglou made his changes. Ronaldo watched none of it from the bench.
Al-Nassr had lost goalkeeper Bento in the 12th minute, sent off after rushing off his line and bringing down Moussa Dembélé. Ondrej Duda struck in the 31st and Álvaro Medrán added a second in first-half stoppage time. Postecoglou used the break to reshape the team and sent on Abdullah Al-Khaibari for the 41-year-old.
Postecoglou stands by the call
The Australian offered no hint of regret afterwards.
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“When I made the substitutions, including taking Ronaldo off, I believed the players coming on could make an impact,” Postecoglou told reporters.
“I came here to help the players, so as I said, I’m proud of them because every substitute made a positive contribution.”
The manager also described the message he had delivered inside the dressing room.
“When we went into halftime two goals down, I told the players that the two goals could be overturned because they came from shots,” he said.
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Mané and Al-Amri finish the job
Mané pulled a goal back in the 74th minute. Three minutes later Abdulelah Al-Amri levelled with a header from a João Félix corner, and Mané struck again in the 90th to complete the win.
Ronaldo did not appear at full-time. Footage from the ground showed him visibly displeased as he came off, gesturing towards the bench and his teammates, before hurling the armband to the grass. He remained inside as his side celebrated the comeback out on the pitch.
The result took Al-Nassr to nine points from three Saudi Pro League matches, a third straight win to start the 2026-27 season.
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