Ronaldo lost his breath when Al Nassr lost the top spot
Score: Romarinho 80'.
The match at King Abdullah Sports City on the evening of March 9 is considered the early final of the tournament, when Al Nassr holds the first place with 46 points, two points more than Al Ittihad. Both clubs lost one match before round 20.
Al Ittihad had the upper hand with 58% possession, 12 shots with three shots on target, compared to Al Nassr's 6 and 3. The difference was made in the 80th minute, when Ahmed Sharahili crossed the ball to let Romarinho take a touch to eliminate the away team's defense and then put his heart in the corner near the end of goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi.
In the third minute of compensation, Ronaldo had the opportunity to become Al Nassr's hero but could not take advantage. The Portuguese forward picked up the ball from a teammate in the penalty area and then shot it with his left foot from a tight angle. The ball was not dangerous and goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe pushed the crossbar all the way, helping Al Ittihad keep three points.
After the match, Ronaldo and his teammates went to the stands to applaud and thank the Al Nassr fans who came directly to the field. But then the 38-year-old striker got angry, muttered to himself and his teammates and entered the tunnel.
This loss made Al Nassr lose the first place to Al Ittihad with a distance of one point. On January 26, Al Nassr lost to his own opponent 1-3 in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup, in Ronaldo's second first match.
On King Abdullah Sports yesterday, Ronaldo kicked the full 90 minutes, touched the ball 48 times, finished three times, successfully dribbled twice and lost the ball 15 times.
Aside from the only shot on goal that came in the third minute of stoppage time, Ronaldo's hallmarks came late in the first half. In the 29th minute, the Portuguese striker picked up the ball from his teammates and then shot from the corner, failing to win against Grohe. This ball, the former Real Madrid and Man Utd striker was offside.
In the 42nd minute, Ronaldo headed off the post from Abdulmajeed Al Sulaiheem's left wing cross. At the beginning of the second half, from the free-kick with a distance of 25m to the right, the captain of Al Nassr shot over the bar.
Ronaldo did not score or assist in the first two matches of March, after Al Batin 3-1 in round 19 of the Saudi Pro League on March 3. This is a contrast to when he received the Saudi Pro League Player of the Month for February. Last month, the Portuguese striker had eight goals and two assists in four games, including the penalty kick that sealed the Al Fateh 2-2 draw, four goals in the 4-0 win over Al Wehda, two assists in the match. beat Al Taawon 2-1 and scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Damac.
In the next two matches, Ronaldo and his teammates continuously met Abha, respectively in the quarterfinals of the King's Cup on March 14 and round 21 of the Saudi Pro League on March 18.
