Cristiano Ronaldo’s challenging period continued as the famed Portuguese footballer missed a stoppage-time penalty during Al-Nassr’s King’s Cup match against Al-Taawoun on Tuesday. This mistake resulted in Al-Nassr’s elimination from the King’s Cup. Trailing 0-1, Ronaldo had a crucial opportunity to level the match in the final moments but missed the target, causing shock among the home crowd of 14,519. Al-Nassr lost the match 0-1 and was knocked out of the tournament.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has not yet secured a major trophy since joining the club nearly two years ago. In the round-of-16 stage of Saudi Arabia’s premier knockout competition, Al-Taawoun went ahead with Waleed Al-Ahmad’s header with 20 minutes left on the clock. Al-Ahmad was later penalized for a foul in the area in the 95th minute.
Ronaldo, who had successfully converted all 18 of his previous penalties for Al-Nassr, missed this time, sending the ball over the bar. The missed shot inadvertently hit a young fan who was capturing the game on his mobile phone. Videos of the incident, showing the boy losing his phone, quickly went viral.
After the match, Ronaldo faced heavy criticism for his missed penalty. He addressed the situation on social media, stating, “Every challenge is an opportunity to grow,” and assured fans he would come back stronger.
This defeat marks the first for Stefano Pioli since the Italian took over from Luis Castro as head coach in September. Ronaldo and Al-Nassr still have opportunities for silverware this season. They are six points behind leaders Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League after eight games and have accumulated seven points from three games in the Asian Champions League group stage.
Head coach Pioli commented, “Technically we performed well but we couldn’t win the game. 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.”
