Cristiano Ronaldo misses two sitters minutes apart in Al Nassr draw
Cristiano Ronaldo missed two huge chances minutes apart for Al Nassr against Al Fateh.
Ronaldo bagged a brace in his first game in Saudi Arabia when he captained the Riyadh XI in an entertaining friendly against Paris Saint-Germain.
But he then drew a blank in his next two games, missing a header in a 3-1 Saudi Super Cup defeat to Al Ittihad and being blamed for the defeat by manager Rudi Garcia.
He was then extremely wasteful in front of goal again in the first half of his latest appearance.
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Anderson Talisca struck a shot against the post and when it rebounded to Ronaldo, with a large chunk of the goal gaping due to the goalkeeper being on the floor, he blazed the ball over.
The 37-year-old was visibly frustrated with the miss but then just before half-time he was guilty of another poor miss.
The ball was cut back to him inside the area and it looked the perfect moment for Ronaldo to open his account.
However, his left-footed strike crashed against the bar before the ball was cleared by the opposition defenders after it came back into play.
The miss came after Talisca equalised, cancelling out Cristian Tello's opener 12 minutes in but the hosts regained the lead in the second half when Sofiane Bendebka struck.
But in the 93rd minute, Ronaldo finally netted his first goal for Al Nassr - converting a penalty in a chaotic finale which saw Talisca sent off.
Ronaldo had to contend with Lionel Messi chants in his outing as Al Ittihad supporters trolled him while he headed down the tunnel.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has a lucrative £175 million-a-year contract until 2025 and there was talk that the club were hopeful of him ending his career in Riyadh.
However, Garcia expects Ronaldo to be back in European football before he hangs up his boots.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a positive addition, as he helps to disperse defenders,” Garcia said.
“He is one of the best players in the world. He will not finish his career at Al Nassr, he will return to Europe.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr, Saudi Pro League, Saudi Arabia
Josh Lawless