Cristiano Ronaldo experienced his first defeat in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday night, when his Al Nassr side were knocked off top spot by Al Ittihad in Jeddah.
The league leaders were beaten 1-0 at a raucous King Abdullah Sports City, with striker Romarinho getting the decisive goal 10 minutes from time following a sweeping move from the hosts.
The win meant second-placed Ittihad usurp Nassr at the summit, giving Nuno Espirito Santo's team a one-point advantage after 20 rounds.
The defeat represented Al Nassr’s first in the league since the beginning of September, a run stretching back 18 matches. However, Ittihad did beat the Riyadh side in the Super Cup in January. Ronaldo, who signed for Nassr in late December, played in that match, too.
The Portuguese star, installed immediately as Nassr captain, failed to score for the second successive match following a remarkable February in which he struck eight times and registered two assists to claim the league’s Player of the Month award.
On Thursday, Ronaldo had only two real chances, one in either half, although in the first instance he was flagged offside after Ittihad goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe saved his low shot.
Ronaldo’s other opportunity came in injury-time, however his fierce left-footed drive was repelled excellently once more by Grohe.
The game’s only goal arrived in the 80th minute via Romarinho’s superb control and cool finish, which concluded a brilliant counter-attack from Ittihad.
The victory was Ittihad's ninth in their past 10 matches, with the eight-time Saudi champions not conceding in their last seven games. They are seeking a first top-flight title since 2009, while Nassr last lifted the domestic crown in 2019.
Nine-time champions Nassr are next in action on Tuesday in the King’s Cup quarter-final at home to Abha.
Meanwhile, fellow Riyadh club Al Shabab sit third, four points off the top, with current champions Al Hilal 14 points back in fifth – although they do have three games in hand.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
