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Al-Nassr fans have alleged foul play from coach Stefano Pioli after Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate Marcelo Brozovic was left on the bench for their game against Al-Khaleej. The Knights of Najd return to league action by hosting the mid-table side in their penultimate league game of the season.
Pioli's side are looking to return to winning ways in the league, having dropped crucial points in their most recent game against Al-Taawoun. A win against Al-Khaleej will move them to within one point of Al-Qadsiah in third, with a place in next season's AFC Champions League Elite already out of their reach.
The Knights of Najd have been boosted by the return of talismanic captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed each of their last two games for health-related reasons. The 40-year-old will not start the game with one of his side's most trusted lieutenants, Marcelo Brozovic, after the Croat was named on the bench for the home game.
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Al-Nassr fans are unhappy with the exclusion of the former Inter Milan man, who has played 27 times in the league this season. A number of them took to X to complain of the decision of coach Pioli. A fan account announced the manager's decision to bench Brozovic ahead of time.
"Marcelo Brozovic will start on the bench against Al Khaleej.", they posted.
A fan alleged that the coach is out to sabotage Cristiano Ronaldo after seeing the players included in the starting XI.
"It is clear Pioli wants to sabotage Ronaldo. Why he starts shit lineup everytime Ronaldo is available?", they asked.
Another fan stated that Pioli does not want his side to qualify for any of the competitions on offer for next season.
"Pioli doing everything to make sure they don't even play afc 2 and super cup lol...", they wrote.
A fan rued the lack of a replacement for the Croatian midfielder in the Al-Nassr squad.
"ughhh not a single replacemant for this guy too crucial.", they complained.
Marcelo Brozovic is not named in the starting lineup for an Al-Nassr game for the first time since April 12th against Al-Riyadh. The 32-year-old made six successive starts for the side since then before his eventual dropping.
Cristiano Ronaldo, teammate return to action for Al-Nassr against Al-Khaleej
Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammate Mohamed Simakan have both been named in the starting XI for Al-Nassr against Al-Khaleej. The pair of foreign stars are set to return to action in the game after spending time on the sidelines.
With 23 goals to his name, former Real Madrid man Ronaldo leads the goalscoring charts in the Saudi top-flight this season. The 40-year-old will hope to find his scoring boots once more for his side, having failed to score in each of his last two appearances.
Simakan returns to the XI in defence, having last featured in the 3-2 defeat against Al-Ittihad two weeks ago. The Frenchman will miss his regular partner Aymeric Laporte at the back, as the former Manchester City man was left out of the squad.
