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George Ilenikhena produced a performance to remember as Al-Ittihad beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr 2-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 20-year-old Nigerian striker scored twice inside the opening 22 minutes at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, putting Al-Ittihad in control of a match that had been billed as one of the league's major early-season clashes.
Ilenikhena's display earned him an 8.1 rating on Sofascore, while Ronaldo was rated 6.7. The result also gave Al-Ittihad an important three points against an Al-Nassr side that had started the league campaign strongly.
Ilenikhena ended with four shots in the match, and scored from the only two he had on target. He completed four of his six passes, with a 75 per cent passing accuracy in the final third. The youngster also won two of his three aerial duels.
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Ilenikhena strikes twice before Ronaldo can respond
Ilenikhena needed only four minutes to make his mark. The Nigerian forward finished Al-Ittihad's early pressure with a poacher's headed effort to put the home side ahead. His acrobatic second goal arrived in the 22nd minute, giving Al-Ittihad a 2-0 advantage before the game had reached the halfway point of the first half.
It was a ruthless spell from the young striker, who had been given the starting role ahead of Youssef En-Nesyri.
Ilenikhena had already scored in Al-Ittihad's 1-0 victory away to Al-Qadsiah on 21 August, finding the net just before half-time. He was substituted in the 57th minute after helping his side protect the lead.
In the match against Al-Nassr, Ilenikhena was again trusted from the start and responded with two goals in the first 22 minutes. He finished with two goals from three attempts before being replaced in the 66th minute.
Al-Nassr did pull one goal back in the 36th minute through Ângelo Gabriel, with Ronaldo providing the assist. That gave the visitors a route back into the game, but Al-Ittihad refused to surrender their lead.
Ronaldo had another major opportunity in the 60th minute when he shot from inside the penalty area. Predrag Rajković produced the save, denying the Portugal captain an equaliser. Al-Nassr eventually finished with more possession and more attempts, but could not turn that pressure into a second goal.
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The visitors had 53% possession and registered 16 shots, including nine on target. Al-Ittihad had 13 attempts and three on target. Rajković was forced into eight saves as Al-Ittihad protected their advantage.
The victory continued Ilenikhena's rapid rise in importance at the club. Before the Al-Nassr game, his recent league record already included a goal against Al-Qadsiah, while he had also scored twice against Al-Najma earlier in August.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, left the pitch without a goal despite helping Ângelo get Al-Nassr back into the contest.
The night belonged to Ilenikhena. And Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle would be a happy man should Ilenikhena repeat similar nights for Nigeria in many years to come.
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