There are moments in football management that either make you look inspired or unhinged, and for a good stretch of Tuesday evening in Saudi Arabia, Ange Postecoglou was edging towards the latter. His Al-Nassr side were two goals down at half-time, already reduced to ten men, and he had just made the decision to take off the most recognisable footballer on the planet. Cristiano Ronaldo, arms spread wide in that familiar gesture of disbelief, walked off the pitch and into the dugout — and then the real drama began.

It had been a miserable opening half for the defending Saudi Pro League champions. Goalkeeper Bento was sent off inside twelve minutes, gifting Al-Ettifaq both a numerical advantage and a foothold in the match they were not slow to exploit. By the break, Postecoglou's new side were staring down the barrel, and the Australian manager had seen enough. Ronaldo, 41 and making only his first start since the World Cup, was hauled off as part of what Postecoglou described as a tactical reset rather than any slight on the Portuguese veteran.

"When I made the substitutions, including taking Ronaldo off, I believed the players coming on could make an impact," Postecoglou said afterwards. "Everyone knows that Ronaldo hasn't played in a long time. He performed exceptionally well in the first half, and we opted for a different approach."

It is exactly the kind of measured, unflappable reasoning that Postecoglou became known for during his time in British football — first building something memorable at Celtic, then arriving in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, and more recently in a brief, turbulent spell at Nottingham Forest that lasted just 39 days before he was relieved of his duties last October. Taking charge at Al-Nassr in the weeks that followed, he has wasted no time stamping his authority on the dressing room, even if Tuesday's methods raised a few eyebrows.

What followed in the second half was the stuff of proper football stories. With Al-Nassr still a man down and the clock ticking well past the hour mark, Sadio Mane and Abdulelah Al Amri scored inside three minutes of each other to drag the hosts level. It was the kind of breathless, almost reckless momentum that catches defences completely flat-footed. And then, with the match seemingly destined for a draw, Mane — the former Liverpool forward whose CV needs little introduction on these shores — grabbed the winner deep into added time.

Three games into the new Saudi Pro League season, Al-Nassr sit top of the table with maximum points. Postecoglou's gamble paid off, the substitutes vindicated him to a man, and even Ronaldo's visible frustration in the moment will likely be tempered by a dressing room celebrating a comeback few thought possible.

Ronaldo himself is understood to be treating this as his final season as a professional footballer, with family life — he married his partner Georgina Rodriguez earlier this month — increasingly the priority beyond the pitch. Whatever the future holds, the scenes on Tuesday were a reminder that even at 41, he remains a figure around whom entire storylines revolve. Postecoglou, for his part, will not lose much sleep over the optics. He has never been one to shy away from a big call, and in the Saudi heat on a Tuesday night, that instinct served him rather well.

Frequently asked

Why did Ange Postecoglou substitute Ronaldo at half-time?
Postecoglou said the decision was tactical rather than a reflection of Ronaldo's performance, noting that his side needed a different approach to mount a comeback from 2-0 down with ten men. He acknowledged Ronaldo had performed well in the first half but felt the players coming on could make a bigger impact in the second.
Who scored the goals in Al-Nassr's comeback win over Al-Ettifaq?
Sadio Mane and Abdulelah Al Amri both scored inside three minutes to level the match, before former Liverpool forward Mane added a winner in added time to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory for the ten-man side.
What is Ange Postecoglou's managerial background before Al-Nassr?
Postecoglou managed Celtic in Scotland before taking the Tottenham Hotspur job in the Premier League. He then had a brief spell at Nottingham Forest, which lasted just 39 days before he was sacked last October, prior to joining Al-Nassr.