AFC Champions League: striker Anderson Talisca carries Al Nassr to victory in absence of Cristiano Ronaldo
- Brazilian striker seals team’s fourth straight win with three goals against Qatar’s Al Duhail
- Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan joint-top of Group G alongside Yokohama after beating Incheon United
Brazilian striker Anderson Talisca shone for Al Nassr in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday, scoring a hat-trick in their 3-2 victory against Al Duhail in Qatar.
The Saudi Pro League side, who chose to rest in-form captain Ronaldo, rebounded from Philippe Coutinho’s early opener at the Khalifa International Stadium to keep their 100 per cent record in this year’s competition intact.
Nassr now have 12 points from four matches to sit top of Group E.
Ronaldo, who scored twice two weeks ago in Riyadh in the Saudi Arabian club’s 4-3 home win against the same opponents, was rested for the corresponding fixture by Nassr manager Luis Castro.
On Tuesday, Duhail went ahead on eight minutes through Coutinho, when the former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder slid in to finish Michael Olunga’s low cross for his first Asian Champions League goal. The Nassr bench were in uproar, though, believing Olunga had fouled defender Mohammed Al Fatil in the build-up.
However, the visitors completely turned around the tie in a 10-minute spell late in the first half. First, Talisca exchanged passes with Abdulrahman Ghareeb at the edge of the Duhail area and curled a superb right-footed shot low into the bottom corner.
Then, he collected a short pass from Sadio Mane and, from almost the exact position as his first, skidded a left-footed drive beyond rooted goalkeeper Salah Zakaria.
