“Small game player and cracks under pressure” - Fans claim ‘horrid’ player is holding back Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr

Al-Nassr fans on X (formerly Twitter) have slammed Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate Nawaf Alaqidi after he had a poor performance during their 5-2 win against Al-Ittihad on Tuesday, December 26.

The Knights of Najd cruised to a comfortable victory over 10-man Al-Ittihad away from home in their Saudi Pro League clash. Abderrazak Hamdallah gave the hosts the lead in the 14th minute, finishing past Alaqidi, who arguably should have done better to prevent the goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty in the 19th minute before Anderson Talisca made it 2-1 in the 38th minute with a good finish. Hamdallah leveled the scores in the 51st minute, but Fabinho was sent off 15 minutes for a poor foul, conceding a penalty in the process.

Ronaldo scored his second penalty of the night before Sadio Mane scored a late brace (75', 82') to seal all three points for Al-Nassr.

Nawaf Alaqidi had a poor performance in goal. The Al-Nassr goalkeeper made three saves but didn't look convincing with his distribution. He found an Al-Ittihad player on two occasions from a goal-kick and was fortunate to not have cost his side a further two goals.

The 23-year-old hasn't had the best of seasons either, keeping just six clean sheets in 24 appearances across all competitions. One fan wrote on X:

"Horrid, small game player and cracks under pressure"

Another fan chimed in, claiming he needs to step up his game:

"Needs to up his game. Almost cost us more than 2 times yesterday. He's not comfortable with the ball"

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How did Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr fare against Al-Ittihad?

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace from the penalty spot to inspire Al-Nassr to a 5-2 win against Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad on Tuesday. Let's take a look at the stats to see how both teams performed.

Luis Castro's team dominated possession with 60 percent of the ball. They also attempted a total of 509 passes, with an accuracy of 89 percent. In contrast, Al-Ittihad had 40 percent possession and attempted 338 passes with an accuracy of 79 percent.

The Knights of Najd also looked much more threatening up front, registering a total of 16 shots, with eight being on target. On the other hand, Al-Ittihad had 10 shots in total, with five being on target.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. remain second in the Saudi Pro League standings with 43 points from 18 games, seven points behind leaders Al-Hilal. They next face Al-Taawoun on Saturday, December 30.

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