Cristiano Ronaldo’s Stoppage Time Penalty Miss Hands Stefano Pioli First Defeat at Al Nassr
Al Nassr crashed out of the King’s Cup on Tuesday evening after Al Taawoun triumphed 1-0 in a hard-fought victory. Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to level the score in the 95th minute but failed to score, his first penalty miss in 19 attempts.
A Waleed Al-Ahmad goal in the 71st minute put Al Taawoun ahead and left Al Nassr scrambling for an equalizer in the final 20 minutes of the match. Their best chance came in the 95th minute when goalscorer Al-Ahmad committed a foul inside his penalty area, leading the referee to point to the spot.
As usual, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty. The 15,000-strong home crowd waited in anticipation for the Portuguese international to slot it home just as he’s done for the last 18 times at Al Nassr. However, in true dramatic fashion, he blasted his shot wide and caught a young fan who was excitedly filming the action from the stands.
Despite a storied career that has seen him win 33 senior trophies, Ronaldo has yet to win any silverware at Al Nassr, and the King’s Cup was one of the opportunities this season. Out of the cup competition, Al Nassr will now go into their Friday contest against Al Hilal with the determination to eke out a win and narrow the gap between them and the league leaders.
This was Stefano Pioli’s first defeat since taking over at the helm of the club. Speaking after the match, Pioli saluted his players for their performances despite failing to win. He also spoke about their chances at silverware, saying, “We feel disappointed to be out of the cup. But we still have two trophies to go for and we will give our best in them.” Al Nassr are six points behind league leaders Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League and have seven points after three group-stage matches in the AFC Champions League Elite. They will need to up the ante and catch up to keep their silverware chances alive.
