Steve Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over last year’s runners-up Al Nassr, who were without Cristiano Ronaldo after he came off injured following his double in Saturday’s Arab Champions Cup final.
Two former Liverpool players – Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson – faced off wearing the captain armbands and it was Mane who opened the scoring inside four minutes for Al Nassr when the Senegal forward tapped the ball in from a cut-back.
Al-Ettifaq equalised two minutes into the second half when goalkeeper Nawaf Alaqidi mishandled a cross, allowing Robin Quaison to score.
Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq scored again six minutes later when former Lyon forward, Moussa Dembele, scored from close range.
It is unclear when Ronaldo will return, but Al Nassr will hope to have their forward back soon for their league campaign.
