With Cristiano Ronaldo suspended for an obscene gesture made in the previous match, Anderson Talisca stole the show in Al-Nassr’s 4-4 draw against Al-Hazm on Matchday 22 of the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick, although it wasn’t enough for his team to claim all three points.
The Feira de Santana native opened the scoring at the 31st minute from the penalty spot, but from there on, it was a back-and-forth affair. Ahmad Al Mhemaid leveled the score at 53′, eight minutes before Talisca put the home side ahead again. Tozé made it 2-2 at 66′, but just five minutes later, the former Bahia player restored the lead for his team.
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When it looked like Sadio Mané would finally secure the win for the Riyadh-based outfit with a penalty goal in added time (Faiz Selemani had equalized 3-3 at 84′), Paulo Ricardo secured a dramatic draw for the visitors.
This result ends a streak of six consecutive wins for Luís Castro’s side, leaving them six points behind leaders Al-Hilal (who play today against Al-Ittihad). The good news is that Talisca remains in form: with five goals in the last two matches, he’s establishing himself as the second most dangerous attacking option behind Ronaldo.
While the Portuguese leads the Saudi league’s scoring charts with 22 goals, the 30-year-old forward sits third with 16, three behind Aleksandar Mitrovic.
They have already shown what they are capable of when playing together, but it’s also interesting for Al-Nassr to see that Talisca can maintain his scoring rate even when Cristiano is out.
