Postecoglou’s Al-Nassr concede four in Estrela pre-season defeat

Al-Nassr suffered their second defeat in three pre-season friendlies after losing 4-2 to Portuguese side Estrela during their training camp in Portugal.

The result was another setback for the Saudi Arabian club before the start of the new season, with the team conceding four goals in a match in which manager Ange Postecoglou made a number of changes to his starting line-up and squad.

Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored Al-Nassr’s first goal with a powerful left-footed shot. Iraqi forward Haider Abdulkarim added the second, finding the net with a well-directed header.

However, Al-Nassr’s defensive problems were exposed by the four goals they conceded. Estrela scored their first and third goals from headers, with a lack of defensive marking allowing the Portuguese side to find space in the penalty area.

The second and fourth goals came from shots which Al-Nassr’s goalkeeper was unable to handle, further highlighting the difficulties faced by the team at the back during the contest.

The defeat came after Al-Nassr had already lost 2-1 to Benfica’s reserve side in Portugal. They then recorded a victory against Spanish club Merida before suffering another loss against Estrela.

Al-Nassr’s meeting with Estrela was their third friendly of the pre-season programme. They are scheduled to play Almeria in their fourth match, three days after the defeat.

The Portugal camp is being used to prepare the squad for the new campaign, but the latest result leaves Postecoglou with defensive issues to address before Al-Nassr’s next fixture. While the side scored twice through Al-Hamdan and Abdulkarim, they were unable to prevent Estrela from taking advantage of marking errors and goalkeeping mistakes.

Al-Nassr will now have a short period to recover and prepare for the match against Almeria, which will provide another opportunity to assess the squad before competitive football begins.