The 28th round of the Saudi league started in midweek, and Riyadh Victory, which ranked second in the standings, sat at home against the 10th-ranked Faha, and the two teams faced each other 10 times before, Riyadh won 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, with obvious psychological advantages. However, due to the elbow of the opponent in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup, Ronaldo received a suspension ticket and could only watch from the sidelines. Sadio Mane missed a penalty and was once a sinner, but scored a brace in the second half to lead the team to a 3-1 reversal and retain the hope of winning the title.
With Cristiano Ronaldo unavailable, Castro switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Sadio Mane making a cameo in the centre-forward in place of the president, Otavio, Brozovic and Telles coming on together, Laporte at the back and Ospina continuing to defend the goal for Riyadh's victory.
After the game started, Riyadh Victory's poor defense was punished! Only 6 minutes into the game, Nwakeme advanced and split the ball, Saqqara took the ball on the left and cut in, shook off Ganem and shot hard, Ospina couldn't reach it, Riyadh Victory conceded early, 0-1 down.
In the 11th minute, there was a controversial penalty on the field, Brozovic instigated an offensive with a direct pass, Mane took the ball in the penalty area, and was knocked to the ground by the opponent, but the referee refused to award a penalty! In the 26th minute, Riyadh won a corner kick offensive, Laporte seized the opportunity of the opponent to clear not far away, and shot with his foot in the melee, and was bravely blocked by Stojkovic.
In the 34th minute, Telles crossed the left side, Mane cut in to form a one-on-one knife, Schwesz chased back to bring him down, and this time the referee still refused to award a penalty, causing the displeasure of the Riyadh victory generals.
Seven minutes later, Riyadh Victory opened the gap from the left again, Telles crossed from the bottom of the bottom, Ganem met at the back post, and fell to the ground in pain after being stepped on by his opponent's ankle, and the referee finally awarded a penalty after watching VAR. However, Mane didn't grasp it, and sent the ball into the stands with a powerful shot, and Riyadh Victory failed to equalize!
After the first 45 minutes, Riyadh Victory had more than 60% possession and a 11-2 lead in shots on goal, but the score was 0-1.
After returning to the pitch, Riyadh Victory's defence was once again porous, and in the 54th minute, Saqqara did the same trick, receiving a direct pass from a teammate, cutting inside from the left and firing low into the net, but the referee signaled offside.
In the 69th minute, Tsimirott's through pass easily tore through the defense of Riyadh Victory, Nwakeme shot into the far corner from a small angle, Ospina stood there and watched, the ball hit the post and popped up!
In the 73rd minute, Telles crossed from a corner kick, Amri pressed the opponent's defender to score with a header, and Riyadh Victory finally equalized, 1-1!
After the equalizer, Riyadh won like a rainbow, 3 minutes later Otavio picked up a pass from the edge of the penalty area, Mane made up for it, unloaded the ball on his chest, turned around and shot into the net, 2-1!
In the 82nd minute, Mane dreamed of returning to the peak, forced a 1V3 break through into the penalty area on the left side, flashed an angle and shot into the net, scoring a brace, and Riyadh won 3-1 to seal the win. In the 88th minute, Saqqara pushed Otavio in the middle of an altercation, and the referee showed a red card to expel him, leaving Feha with 10 men left to fight.
In the 82nd minute, Mane dreamed of returning to the peak, forced a 1V3 break through into the penalty area on the left side, flashed an angle and shot into the net, scoring a brace, and Riyadh won 3-1 to seal the win. In the 88th minute, Saqqara pushed Otavio in the middle of an altercation, and the referee showed a red card to expel him, leaving Feha with 10 men left to fight.
With a 3-1 reversal of Faha, Riyadh Victory got out of the shadow of a 1-2 defeat in the last game and continued to sit in second place in the standings, still 9 points behind the top Crescent Moon with one more game, as fans said Ronaldo's championship hopes have not been completely dashed.