Failed To Execute Penalty, Kans Ronaldo Gets One Less Trophy With Al Nassr

JAKARTA - Al Nassr was eliminated in the last 16 of the King's Cup or the King's Cup of Saudi Arabia. They lost 0-1 against Al Taawun on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, early morning WIB.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the culprit that makes Al Nassr unable to move into the next phase.

He missed the penalty in second-half injury time, 90+6 minute to be exact. The failure made Al Nassr cancel equalization.

This defeat is Stefano Pioli's first since he replaced Luis Castro as head coach in September 2024.

"Technically we performed well, but we couldn't win the game. We were disappointed to be eliminated from the Saudi Arabian King Cup."

"However, we still have two trophies to fight for. We will give the best for it," Pioli said after the match as reported by ESPN.

Ronaldo's potential to win trophies this season has reduced by one. In fact, the five-time Ballon D'Or winner has never won a major trophy since joining the club almost two years ago.

The only trophy Ronaldo has ever won with Al Nassr is the Arab Club Champions Cup or the King Salman Club Cup in 2023.

The former Manchester United star still has two chance to win trophies this season. In the Saudi Arabian Pro League which has only been running for eight weeks, Al Nassr is in third place and six points clear of Al Hilal at the top.

Then, another opportunity is the Asian Elite Champions League or the 2024/2025 AFC Champions League Elite.

Al Nassr is currently in fourth place with seven points from three matches. They are still on a safe path to qualify for the last 16.

Meanwhile, the course of the Al Nassr vs Al Taawoun match was quite surprising. Ronaldo and colleagues can excel in terms of possession (65 percent) and release more chances, 15 shots and five shots on target.

However, it was Al Taawoun who opened the scoring in the 71st minute through Waleed Al-Ahmed at Al-Awwal Park, home of Al Nassr.

Al Nassr was then awarded a penalty in the final minutes. However, Ronaldo, who has never failed to execute a penalty in 18 attempts since joining Al Nassr, fired a shot that bounced over the crossbar.