12 March 2024 , 00:00
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Cristiano Ronaldo had a nightmare evening as his Al-Nassr side crashed out of the AFC Champions League on Monday at the hands of Al Ain.
Former Manchester United frontman Ronaldo scored his 29th goal of the season as the Saudi giants forced a penalty shoot-out against their opponents from the UAE. He earlier missed a golden chance, though, and was made to pay for it as his team lost on spot-kicks.
Al-Nassr went unbeaten through the group stage and eliminated fellow Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Fayha in the round of 16. They lost the first leg of their quarter-final in Al Ain, though, and fell further behind on aggregate when Soufiane Rahimi struck twice in the first half in Riyadh.
Ronaldo's team-mates battled back to force extra-time, with his former United colleague Alex Telles among the scorers, and a Ronaldo penalty forced a shoot-out after Sultan Al-Shamsi netted for the visitors in the extra period. Al Ain won 3-1 on spot-kicks, though, with Ronaldo the only Al-Nassr player to convert from 12 yards.
The outcome meant Ronaldo's shocker of a miss came back into focus after the final whistle. The 39-year-old has long been known for his finishing ability, but couldn't convert when it looked easier to score.
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With the scores locked at 2-2 on the night, and 3-2 to Al Ain on aggregate, visiting keeper Khalid Eisa could only parry an Ali Lajami effort into Ronaldo's path. However, with everyone in the stadium waiting for the net to bulge, the Portugurse fired wide.
Al-Nassr still made it to penalties despite a red card for Ayman Yahya. However, despite Ronaldo scoring his spot-kick, misses from Marcelo Brozovic, Telles and Otavia proved the team's undoing.
Where does Cristiano Ronaldo's miss rank among the worst you've seen? Have your say in the comments section
Cristiano Ronaldo fired wide from point-blank range (Twitter/CBSSportsGolazo)Before the game, Ronaldo was in a confident mood. He had scored three times in the group stage, as well as in each leg of the last-16 game, but his and his team's run ended short of the final.
“We are ready, we are prepared and we believe that we will have a very good night," he said before the game. "I have the opportunity now to say to all the fans in the stadium ‘be with us, be positive’ because we players, we are very positive that we are going to change the first game and we are going to pass to the semi-finals – this is what we believe.”
Despite Al-Nassr's exit, there will still be one Saudi team in the semi-finals. Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal face off in the second leg of their own quarter-final on Tuesday, with first-leg goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Salem Al-Dawsari giving Saudi Pro League leaders Hilal a two-goal advantage ahead of their trip to Jeddah.
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