ALKHOBAR: Before the international break in September, the 2025/26 Saudi Pro League’s Player of the Year hesitated in a moment that could still prove crucial to Al-Nassr’s SPL title aspirations this season. Joao Felix had the option of passing to Sadio Mane or Cristiano Ronaldo, either side of him, in a stoppage-time counterattack against Al-Khaleej, but the pass never came, and Al-Nassr dropped two valuable points in a 1-1 draw.

Now, with another international break looming, Felix has hit a run of form that makes his Player of the Year campaign look like the opening act. For the third time in four games, Felix proved decisive for Al-Nassr in a game where they were put to the test.

While the 6-2 result may suggest otherwise, the only real difference between Al-Nassr and Pakhtakor on the night was the quality of Al-Nassr’s finishing.

Al-Nassr’s finishing quality was on show as early as the 15th minute when Abdullah Al-Hamdan shifted his body position to get away from Zaid Tahseen after a through ball put him on the edge of the box, his effort shaking Vladimir Nazarov’s net to open the scoring. Finding him with that through pass was Felix — and he was just getting started.

A minute later, Pakhtakor made a decisive mistake in a build-up. As the pass struck the back of captain Sardor Sobirkhuzaev, it bounced back into space for Felix to latch onto and double Al-Nassr’s lead.

The Uzbek side thought they had reduced the deficit shortly after, when Flamarion waltzed past the Al-Nassr midfield and sent Akmal Mozgovoy through on goal. The roar from the stands was cut short when the referee ruled the goal out for offside after a VAR review.

A common trait of Al-Nassr’s “almost” sides before last season’s title was a failure to seal games they had dominated early on. Felix ensured that this was not the case on this occasion, finishing Mane’s cutback on the half-hour mark to put Ange Postecoglou’s side 3-0 up — all despite the absence of the weekend’s hat-trick hero Ronaldo, who was not chosen for the squad.

Pakhtakor responded with a goal from Flamarion before the first half ended to give their fans hope, but Felix claimed his fourth contribution of the night in the 53rd minute when his corner found Abdulelah Al-Amri to head home the fourth.

The first goal without Felix’s involvement came in the 62nd minute — Abdulrahman Ghareeb finishing from Mane’s cross — and the star man was then taken off for Abdullah Al-Khaibari. Dostonbek Khamdamov later added a second for the hosts before Angelo made it 6-2 in the 79th minute.

The victory has taken Al-Nassr to six points from three games in the ACL Elite, although they have a game in hand after their match against Al-Wasl last week was postponed.

In September, a split second’s hesitation set Al-Nassr back in the SPL title race, followed by a devastating 4-0 defeat to Al-Ain to start their continental campaign. Seven weeks on, Felix has had a hand in nine of their last 15 goals, and with a game in hand in Asia and a league still to be won, the player who once held the ball is the one holding their season together.