In Ronaldo's absence: Postecoglou hands Samu Costa first start

The Portuguese midfielder is enjoying a happy night

Ange Postecoglou has handed Samu Costa his first start for Al-Nassr, with the Australian throwing his Portuguese midfielder into the King's Cup clash with Al-Diriyah.

Al-Nassr take on Al-Diriyah today, Tuesday, at Al-Awwal Park in the Saudi capital Riyadh, in the round of 32 of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.

Postecoglou named his official starting line-up for the match, handing a first start to Costa, whom he signed from Real Mallorca during the current summer transfer window.

Costa made his Al-Nassr debut last Saturday, coming off the bench to score in the 3-0 win over Al-Fateh at Al-Awwal Park, in the first round of the Saudi Roshn League.

With Cristiano Ronaldo absent, the Australian again leaned on Abdullah Al-Hamdan as his main striker, backed by fellow Portuguese Joao Felix, Senegal's Sadio Mane and France's Kingsley Coman.

Postecoglou also brought Abdulelah Al-Amri back into the starting line-up alongside Frenchman Mohamed Simakan, with Spanish defender Inigo Martinez dropping to the substitutes' bench.

Al-Nassr's line-up was as follows:

Goalkeeper: Bento

Defence: Nawaf Boushal - Abdulelah Al-Amri - Mohamed Simakan - Salem Al-Najdi

Midfield: Kingsley Coman - Samu Costa - Angelo - Sadio Mane

Attack: Joao Felix - Abdullah Al-Hamdan