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Fans have slammed Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr despite their 2-0 win over Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Wednesday (May 21). The Knights of Najd appeared to be tactically weak during the game but were saved by two late goals to register a victory.
During the first half, Al-Nassr lacked the cutting edge in the final third. They registered eight goal attempts, five of which were on target but failed to pull down Al-Khaleej’s defensive set-up.
63 minutes into the second half, Ali Abdulraouf Al-Abdelnabi fouled Nassr's Sultan Al-Ghannam in the penalty box. Thus, the Knights of Najd were awarded a spot-kick. CR7 missed from the spot, and the scoreline remained 0-0 in the 65th minute.
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Jhon Duran headed in Nassr's opener after connecting with a cross from Sadio Mane in the 75th minute of the encounter. Ronaldo was also able to draw a penalty after being fouled by Raed Ozaybi in added time (90+6’).
CR7 stepped up to take and delivered from the spot one minute later, sending the goalkeeper in the wrong direction. Thus, the game ended 2-0 in favor of the Knights of Najd.
Despite the victory, some disappointed fans took to X to lament about the Knights of Najd's display, with one tweeting:
"I'm sure I could make Al Nassr play better than Pioli does. It's a torture to watch a full match of Al Nassr 😐."
"Regardless of him scoring this team doesn’t look like they are coached and their attitude is very bad if the team they were playing showed some balls they would have won this game," another added.
"One person has to leave, Pioli or Ronaldo Pioli has not yet realized his tactics are not working at all What kind of empty midfield is this ffs?," a fan opined.
"It's just not a good Club to watch. The atmosphere just isn't good . Ronaldo should score a brace in last game and leave," another complained.
"I speak for everyone when i say get out of this embarrassing no fans club and move literally anywhere else," another lamented.
"What the team lacks is continuity" - Al-Nassr manager Stefano Pioli
The Knights of Najd manager has claimed that his side has numerous positives. Meanwhile, he underlined that Nassr lack continuity which is a necessary trait for them to contend for the title next term.
In a press briefing after the win against Al-Khaleej, Pioli said (via Al Nassr Zone on X):
“Al Nassr has many positives, and this has been evident in many matches this season. What the team lacks is continuity, and Al Nassr has everything it needs to compete for titles next season.”
After securing three points against Al-Khaleej, Al-Nassr have now gathered 67 points from 33 league games. However, they will be unable to feature in the AFC Champions League next term even if they win their final game of the campaign.
