Al Nassr Knocked Out of AFC Champions League

In the early hours of March 12th, Al Nassr drew 4-4 against Al Ain after two legs of the quarter-finals, only to lose 1-3 in the penalty shootout.

In the 118th minute, Al Nassr was awarded a free-kick. Cristiano Ronaldo dashed in to receive his teammate’s cross but was brought down by defender Juma Hassan. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. From 11 meters, CR7 didn’t make a mistake, bringing the score to 4-3 for Al Nassr.

The aggregate score after two legs was 4-4 (Al Ain won 1-0 in the first leg). The two teams had to settle the tie through a penalty shootout. Manager Luis Castro entrusted the task to the foreign players. However, both Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, and Otavio missed their penalties, with only Ronaldo converting successfully. In the end, the hosts suffered a defeat with a score of 1-3.

Ronaldo and his teammates faced failure in the two most crucial arenas. In the Saudi Pro League, they are trailing Al Hilal by 12 points and almost have no chance of winning the title. As for Al Ain, the club advances to the AFC Champions League semi-finals after an 8-year wait.

For Al Nassr, they can only blame themselves. In the first half, the hosts defended loosely and conceded two goals, both from striker Soufiane Rahimi’s cold-blooded finishes.

Towards the end of the first half, Al Nassr finally showed some coordinated plays. Sadio Mane deceived the opposing goalkeeper out of the goal, before passing to Abdulrahman Ghareeb to score from close range, narrowing the score to 1-2.

In the second half, Al Nassr transformed and exerted intense pressure on Al Ain’s half. In the 52nd minute, the score was leveled at 2-2. Otavio’s annoying cross forced goalkeeper Eisa to score an own goal. In the 72nd minute, emotions erupted in the KSU stadium stands as Eisa made another mistake, gifting the hosts a 3-2 lead after Alex Telles’ free-kick from the right wing.

Despite their efforts, Ronaldo was too unlucky. In the 60th minute, goalkeeper Eisa made a mistake and let the ball slip from his hands. From a distance of less than 2 meters, CR7 missed the target. Earlier, the 1985-born superstar also had a shot hitting the woodwork.

With an aggregate score of 3-3 after two legs, Al Nassr and Al Ain had to settle the tie through extra time. In the 98th minute, the hosts suffered a setback. Ayman Yahya was sent off with a red card. Difficulties piled up for the Saudi Pro League representatives in the 103rd minute when goalkeeper Raghed Al Najjar made a silly mistake leading to a goal.

After numerous missed chances, Ronaldo redeemed himself with a successful penalty kick in the 117th minute. However, it was not enough to help the hosts overcome their opponents from the UAE.