“When Cris Doesn’t Score, There’s Talisca” – Verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Colleague Comes True After Hattrick Against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami

Al Nassr’s two lethal attacking forces, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, were absent during the club’s outing against Inter Miami. Yet they scored 6 goals against Lionel Messi and Co. in the Riyadh Season Cup. At the heart of the commanding win was Anderson Talisca’s hat-trick. However, Talisca’s masterclass isn’t a big surprise for Al Nassr’s ex-analyst Alexandre Kerveillant. He has earlier highlighted how the Brazilian always steps up for Al Nassr to compensate for CR7’s absence.

Talisca has closely followed Cristiano Ronaldo in this season’s goal-scoring race. CR7 has 24 goals from 25 Al Nassr appearances this season. Whereas, Talisca has netted 20 from 21 appearances.

‘Great Player’ Talisca was once lauded for complementing the powers of Cristiano Ronaldo!

In an episode of the Arena podcast, Alexandre Kerveillant highlighted how vital both Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca are for Al Nassr. “Talisca is a great player… This year he is scoring one goal after another… When Cris does not score, there is Talisca, and when Talisca does not score, there is Cris… This duo is amazing,” said Kerveillant. Two months after this verdict, the Brazilian attacker sealed Messi’s Inter Miami’s fate with a hat-trick. When Sadio Mane joined the club, everybody thought that the CR7-Mane duo would steal the show. Mane has scored 12 times this season, but he plays second fiddle to both Ronaldo and Talisca, who have crossed the 20-goal mark!

Besides, Ronaldo and Talisca’s combined 44 goals account for more than 50% of the club’s total goals in the 23-24 season. Since the duo remains paramount for the Knights of Najd, they have even said no to 5 European clubs who tried to poach the 30-year-old. Anyhow, Talisca’s solo show against Inter Miami was just a repetition of his previous masterclass at the AFC Champions League.

When Talisca saved a Ronaldo-less Al Nassr in the AFC Champions League stage

Last year, Al Nassr locked horns with Qatari giants Al Duhail in an AFC Champions League group stage match. Then, Cristiano Ronaldo missed the game owing to an injury woe. Philippe Coutinho took the lead for the Qatari side within eight minutes of the game. But Al Nassr did not perish, thanks to Anderson Talisca. The Brazilian single-handedly won the game for Al-Alami with a hat-trick performance.

READ MORE: Al Nassr Duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Talisca Pip Harry Kane & Leroy Sane’s Bayern Partnership to End 2023 on a High

After the game-saving showdown, the 30-year-old credited Cristiano Ronaldo for amping up the team’s mentality. Both of them truly complement one another. For Al Nassr’s betterment, the duo should be back on the field before the season’s regular action resumes after the winter break. The 38-year-old skipper is still nursing the muscle injury that kept him from playing against Messi. Hopefully, CR7 will join forces with Talisca against Al Hilal on Thursday.

WATCH THIS STORY: Cristiano Jr’s Insane Training Schedule