Aymeric Laporte to the rescue! Ex-Man City star fires Al-Nassr to late win against Damac as Saudi Pro League title hopefuls get a lucky escape after dropping Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane

Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro decided to bench Cristiano Ronaldo for the clash after the Portuguese forward scored two back-to-back hat-tricks against Abha and Al-Tai. Sadio Mane was also benched for the clash with an eye on the upcoming Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al-Hilal. Ronaldo's introduction in the second-half kicked the attack into life and a late goal by Aymeric Laporte gave them the three points on the night.

Damac managed the the match wonderfully regardless of Al-Nassr's lack of firepower in the starting lineup. They kept the side down to just one shot on target in 90 minutes. Specifically fullback Dhari El-Enezi and Ramzi Sawlan kept the movement from the flanks under control through the entirety of the game. They were unlucky to lose the game via a well worked corner routine.

Castro decided to enter the game with a real lack of firepower and almost dashed their title hopes against Al-Hilal. However, individual brilliance from Ronaldo kicked the game into life, and Laporte's header gave them the three points.

Al-Nassr will now face off against Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup on Monday, April 8. A win would see them reach the final against either Al-Ittihad or Al-Wehda.