With Al Nassr having just been knocked out of the Saudi Super Cup, the team's head coach has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half miss changed the course of the tie.
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Ronaldo endured yet another frustrating night in Saudi Arabia as he was unable to lead his team past Al Ittihad in their 3-1 Saudi Super Cup loss.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is yet to find the back of the net competitively in the Middle East, but came close when he was put through on goal in the 30th minute of the cup encounter, although he ultimately fluffed his lines at the crucial point.
Al Ittihad's Romarinho opened the scoring 15 minutes prior to Ronaldo's opportunity, and had international football's all-time leading goalscorer scored the leveller, Al Nassr head coach Rudi Garcia thinks the complexion of the game would have been altered.
"One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo's missed opportunity in the first half," the French manager told members of the media after the match, as per Goal.
With the Knights of Najd now out of cup action and Ronaldo still goalless at his new club, attention will now shift to their next match in the Saudi Pro League.
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Al Nassr will face Al Fateh as they hope to maintain their slender advantage at the top of the table, while Portugal's record goalscorer and appearance-maker will also be keen to open his account in the Saudi top flight.
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