Cristiano Ronaldo did not play as Al-Nassr thrashed Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor 6-2 in their AFC Champions League match on Monday. Ronaldo was left out of the squad due to ongoing security worries related to the games in Saudi Arabia.
The 41-year-old was one of three important players rested by Al-Nassr coach Ange Postecoglou for the match in Tashkent. Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan also did not play.
Postecoglou explained the choice was made “given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved,” according to The Independent on Monday.
This decision came as security issues arose in the area, with reports of missile attacks from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting Saudi Arabia.
Al-Nassr's last home game in the tournament on October 12 was delayed by an hour because of these attacks, as reported by the Associated Press. Their next match against UAE team Al-Wasl was also postponed after Al-Wasl refused to travel to Riyadh due to the safety concerns.
Even without Ronaldo, Al-Nassr showed strength against Pakhtakor. João Félix scored two goals in the 6-2 win at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium.
Abdullah Al-Hamdan started the scoring in the 15th minute. Félix added another goal just two minutes later. The former Chelsea player scored again in the 32nd minute, giving Al-Nassr a 3-0 lead.
Pakhtakor managed to score through Flamarion in the 36th minute, but Al-Nassr quickly increased their lead after halftime, with goals from Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdulrahman Ghareeb.
Dostonbek Khamdamov scored the second goal for Pakhtakor, but Ângelo sealed the game for Al-Nassr in the 79th minute.
The Saudi Press Agency reported this win as Al-Nassr’s second in the tournament. This result moved the team to fourth place in the West Region standings with six points, while Pakhtakor stayed on two points.
Ronaldo had scored a hat-trick in Al-Nassr’s recent 5-3 league win over Al-Kholood last Thursday. This brought his career goal count to 985, with nine goals in 12 matches this season.
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