The Saudis from Al Nassr, with Luís Castro in his debut on the bench, but still without Cristiano Ronaldo, beat today (2-0) the Alverca, from Football League 3, in the first of four private games scheduled for the Algarve.
In Albufeira, the Brazilian Anderson Talisca was the main figure of the Asian team, serving Abdulfattah Adam for the opening goal, at eight minutes, and signing the second goal (59), contributing to the success of the Portuguese coach in his first test by Al Nassr, for which he signed for two seasons after leaving Botafogo, leader of the Brazilian league.
More than 1,500 people came to the Municipal Stadium in Albufeira hoping to see Cristiano Ronaldo, but their expectations were ‘disappointed’, since the Portuguese international is not yet part of the group that has been in the Algarve since the 3rd and has not even been seen in the stands.
According to the Saudi club’s press office, Cristiano Ronaldo, like Croatian reinforcement Brozovic, is expected to report for field work this week, ahead of the private game with Farense, scheduled for Friday.
The Portuguese enjoyed a longer vacation period after being involved in the national team’s commitments at the end of last season, with Portugal’s victories over Bosnia-Herzegovina (3-0) and Iceland (1-0) in qualifying for Euro2024.
Besides the new coach, only Anderson Talisca was a ‘face’ already known to Portuguese fans, by virtue of his time with Benfica (between 2014 and 2016), and it only took eight minutes for the Brazilian attacking midfielder to isolate Abdulfattah Adam for the first goal of the night.
Alverca improved as the first half went on, registering several scoring opportunities until halftime, three of which were avoided by goalkeeper Nawaf with great saves.
In the second half, the Saudi Arabian team increased the score in the 59th minute, by Anderson Talisca, taking advantage of a mistake by Pedro Venaque, after a combination with Sami Al-Najei.
After the game with Farense, Al Nassr will also play the Algarve Trophy, facing the Spanish Celta de Vigo (July 17) and Benfica (July 20), both matches at Estádio Algarve.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr club to stay in the Algarve during pre-season in Portugal
