Al-Nassr overcame Al-Ahli 3-2 despite being down to 10 men as Jhon Duran continued his flying start to life in the Saudi Pro League.

Duran netted twice on his league debut for Al-Nassr last week and repeated the trick at Al Inma Bank Stadium in an ill-tempered clash on Thursday.

The former Aston Villa forward hooked in a brilliant finish from the edge of the box to open the scoring in the 32nd minute.

Al-Ahli struck the woodwork on the stroke of half-time, but it was after the interval that the match sparked into chaos.

The hosts thought they had restored parity when Ali Majrashi flicked in from close range, yet after a long VAR check, the goal was disallowed.

However, Al-Nassr's Mohamed Simakan was sent off for elbowing Ivan Toney, who did then drag Al-Ahli level with a superb header in the 78th minute.

Yet two minutes later, Al-Nassr were back in front – Aiman Yahya slamming in at the second attempt after his initial effort was saved by Edouard Mendy.

Duran got his second in the 88th minute, coolly side-footing home on the counter, and that strike proved decisive when Sumayhan Al Nabit pulled one back deep in stoppage time.

Tempers flared between the sides at the final whistle, as Al-Nassr celebrated a victory that moved them to within five points of leaders Al-Ittihad.

Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah beat Al-Shabab 3-2, moving temporarily into third prior to Al-Nassr's win.

Data Debrief: Thrills and spills

This was an exhilarating encounter that featured 30 shots, with 16 of those hitting the target – 10 from Al-Ahli and six from Al-Nassr.

Al-Ahli created chances worthy of 2.63 expected goals, while Al-Nassr's xG was 1.26, so the hosts can consider themselves unfortunate not to get something out of this one.

But in Duran, Al-Nassr have a potent finisher – he scored with both of his attempts on target. Cristiano Ronaldo, though, was quiet, having just one shot that generated only 0.05 xG.