Cristiano Ronaldo continues to show his ability to compete in the Champions League, whether in Asia or Europe. The Portuguese superstar scored again to help bring Al Nassr to the quarterfinals.
Right in the 9th minute of the match against Al Feiha, Ronaldo escaped after a pass from his teammate and was pushed down by two opposing players. The slow-motion video shows that both defenders of the away team were holding the hand of the Portuguese superstar. However, both referee Ma Ning and the VAR team refused to give Al Nassr a penalty.
At the extra time of the first half, Mr. Ma Ning decisively gave Ronaldo a yellow card after an unclear collision near the touchline. The Chinese referee’s decision made CR7 angry. Coach Luis Casto also ran over, complained and also received a penalty card.
Ronaldo suffered because of Mr. Ma Ning’s decision.
Ronaldo continued to play hard. He had a shot against the bar in the first half, a running situation, a cross-angle shot into Al Feiha’s net but was denied for offside.
In the 86th minute, CR7’s efforts were rewarded with a goal that sealed a 2-0 victory for the host. Veteran goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic came out to clear the foul ball, creating conditions for Roanldo to score into an empty net. Before that, Otavio headed the opener for Al Nassr.
In the first leg, Ronaldo scored the only goal to give Al Nassr an advantage right at Al Feiha’s home field. The former MU star scored his 5th goal in the AFC Champions League and his 33rd goal after 34 appearances in all competitions this season.
In the end, Al Nassr won 3-0 against Al Feiha to enter the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League. The next opponent for Ronaldo and his teammates is Al Ain, a UAE club. If they reach the semi-finals, Al Nassr could absolutely meet another Saudi Arabian opponent, Al Hilal (Neymar’s club) or Al Ittihad (Karim Benzema’s club).
