Al-Nassr defeated Spanish club Torremolinos

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The Riyadh club drew 2-2 in their first match against Las Palmas,

Al-Nassr defeated Spanish club Torremolinos 2-1 in the Saudi team’s fourth friendly match of their pre-season training camp taking place in Marbella.

موعد مباراة النصر

The Riyadh club drew 2-2 in their first match against Las Palmas, and beat Zaragoza 2-1 in the second and Malaga 2-0 in the third.

Against Torremolinos, Al-Nassr started with a high press early on, Pity Martinez having a shot saved after only four minutes, while the referee disallowed a goal by Talisca after 15 minutes for offside.

Quick-fire goals in the 43rd and 44th minutes by Vincent Aboubakar and Talisca saw Al-Nassr take a two-goal lead into the break.

Torremolinos reduced the deficit in the 74th minute, but Rudi Garcia’s team, thanks to several substitutions, managed to see out the match for the 2-1 win.

Al-Nassr will host Al-Wehda at Mrsool Park on Aug. 27 in their opening fixture of the 2022-23 Saudi Pro League season.

Too much should not be read into pre-season friendlies, but few could blame Al-Nassr’s fans for getting excited after their team picked up an impressive 2-1 win over Zaragoza in the Spanish resort of Marbella on Monday, thanks to two goals from Sami Al-Najei.

The victory does not necessarily mean that the title is coming back to the Yellow corner of Riyadh for the first time since 2019, but it does show that the team looks to be on the right track under a new coach and with some major signings.

Certainly fans of the second-tier Spanish side did not take kindly to being beaten by Saudi Arabian opposition. On social media, supporters expressed their outrage, saying that certain players should never wear the shirt of the team that won the 1995 European Cup Winners Cup again. Local media were scathing in their comments, lamenting mistakes at both ends of the pitch.

Little credit was given to Al-Nassr, but that is to be expected. Fans back home will not worry too much since this was a fine performance under new coach Rudi Garcia. The former Lyon and Marseille boss is still getting to grips with life in the Kingdom, as well as his task of trying to steer the team from third last season to first in the coming campaign.

The signs are encouraging. The visitors made it difficult for the Spanish team, worked hard, and for what is still only their second pre-season game (after a 2-2 draw against Las Palmas last Friday), looked relatively cohesive. It was encouraging to see the aggressive intent of Al-Nassr when faced with a European opponent on home soil, and given the players he has at his disposal, there is nothing stopping Garcia building a formidable attacking unit in Riyadh.

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