Al Nassr’s manager Luis Castro must have been delighted with his team’s performance in their experienced talisman’s absence as Cristiano Ronaldo’s mission to bring his team back to the top of the Saudi Pro League tree has gotten off to a great start.
In the AFC Champions League, the Saudi Pro League team was playing in midweek when they went to Al Duhail. However, this was the first time since the first few games of the season that Ronaldo wasn’t named in the matchday roster.
This explains his absence.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play in AFC Champions League match vs Al Duhail
Fans of Ronaldo need not worry—your GOAT is healthy. Ronaldo was only rested for Al Nassr’s match against Al Duhail in the AFC Champions League.
“His abilities determined that; I did not decide to eliminate the legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Since he played a match 48 hours ago and 120 minutes prior to that, manager Castro gave an explanation prior to kickoff.
In the rematch, Ronaldo scored twice to lead his team to a 4-3 victory, but on Tuesday, his absence saw them win 3-2. As Anderson Talisca scored a hat-trick to surpass Philippe Coutinho’s brace for the hosts, Marcelo Brozovic and Sadio Mane both began for Al Nassr, while Aymeric Laporte also received a break.
Al Nassr hopes to compete on several fronts and has a lengthy season ahead of them, so controlling Ronaldo’s minutes will be essential to their success. Prior to Tuesday’s Champions League match, the incredibly fit 38-year-old had started 16 of Al Nassr’s 18 games and had already accrued 1,466 minutes of playing time in 2023–2024.
How are Cristiano Ronaldo & Al Nassr performing in 2023/24?
Given Al Nassr’s dominant position in their AFC Champions League group, Castro could afford to rest Ronaldo on Tuesday. With their win over Al Duhail, the Saudi club—which has a perfect record in Group E—qualified for the knockout stages.
In addition to recording three goals in as many competitive games, Ronaldo also provided an assist in Matchday 3’s victory over Al Duhail at home.
The 38-year-old has had a successful start to the Saudi Pro League season, despite not having scored in any of the local competitions. With just 11 games played, the Al Nassr skipper has already contributed 19 goals (12 goals and 7 assists), and his team is presently second in the rankings behind Al Hilal.
But Al Nassr has only played one match against a member of the Saudi “Big Four,” which the Public Investment Fund of the nation acquired this summer. Ronaldo scored twice as Al Ahli was defeated 4-3.