Brendan Rodgers Reveals Tactical Instruction That Helped Al-Qadsiah Beat Cristiano Ronaldo-Led Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo set the trend for top European soccer stars moving to the Saudi Pro League after joining Al-Nassr in 2023. His contract termination at Manchester United, following the explosive comments in his interview with Piers Morgan, turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Middle Eastern side.

How Brendan Rodgers’ Al Qadsiah Beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr

The Portuguese superstar has played a key role in attracting eyeballs to the league, with the number of fans watching from outside the country increasing every season. However, the one thing that he has not managed to do in Saudi Arabia is win a major trophy.

The 40-year-old’s hunt for silverware took another hit this week, after Al-Nassr were beaten at home by Al Qadsiah. Former Atlas and Club America star Julián Quiñones and Uruguayan midfielder Nahitan Nández scored the goals for the away side, before Ronaldo’s penalty pulled one back for Jorge Jesus’ side with nine minutes plus stoppage time left.

The home side could not score another goal in the game, which saw them slip four points behind Al-Hilal in the title race. With just one point from their last three matches, after starting the season with 10 wins in a row, Al-Nassr now sit with 31 points, while Al Qadsiah moved to fourth with 27 points.

Their manager, Brendan Rodgers, spoke about his tactical setup that helped his side get the three points, saying that they forced Al-Nassr to play long balls by making the forwards drop deep.

He added that their focus in the second half, after scoring twice in the first 21 minutes from the restart, was to keep possession, forcing Jesus’ side to think differently, and said:

“We are very happy with today’s victory, and we dedicate it to our fans and to the people of Khobar, who truly deserve this win. We showed our capabilities against a big club like Al-Nassr. In the second half, we needed to improve our ball possession, and that is something we worked on throughout the match. We tried to force Al-Nassr to play long balls, and we asked our attackers to drop back and contribute defensively.”

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Rodgers, who managed Liverpool and Celtic before moving to Saudi Arabia, heaped praise on his players and added:

“All the players delivered an outstanding performance both offensively and defensively, and their tactical discipline was clearly eviden. Our goal is to continue winning and to make this victory a strong motivation for achieving more positive results in the upcoming matchweeks of the Saudi Pro League.”

Ronaldo’s side has the chance to close the gap on Al-Hilal to just one point on Monday, January 12, when the two sides face off in the Saudi Pro League.