A Sadio Mane led Al-Nassr lost their first league game of the season to Steven Gerrard'd Al-Ettifaq.
Steven Gerrard got off to a winning start to his life as a manager in the Saudi Professional League, defeating an established big four team in Al-Nassr 2-1.
Although Al-Ettifaq are not one of the four teams backed by the war chest of the PIF, they got a significant influx of their own, bringing in Liverpool legends Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson.
Their first game of the season was a tough test at home against the Faris Najd at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium, which The Commandos passed with flying colours.
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How it happened
As Pulse Sports reported earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo sustained an injury in Al-Nassr's triumph over Al-Hilal in the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup, and that ruled him out of this game.
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Ex-Bayern forward Sadio Mane took the mantle of leadership and fired his team ahead as early as the fourth minute of the game, getting on the end of an Ali Al-Hassan delivery.
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Gerrard rallied his troops, and their performance at the start of the second-half was much better. So much so that they scored twice in the opening ten minutes of resumption.
Swedish forward Robin Quaison got the equaliser for Gerrard's men in the 47th minute of the game before new boy Moussa Diaby poked home a deflected cross from close range to pull Al-Ettifaq ahead.
Luis Castro's side pushed for an equaliser for much of the second-half, but could not break a resolute defence, starting their title charge in the worst possible way.
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