Cristiano Ronaldo has said goodbye to the Asian Champions League. The Portuguese forced the penalty shootout with a penalty goal in the 118th minute of extra time. Al Ain was more successful in a match of absolute madness and as many twists as in an episode of a good series. The 120 regulation minutes, which with the additions were 138, ended with 4-3 and everything to be decided from the penalty spot where the coin tossed for Cristiano, Mané and Brozovic came out tails. The elimination leaves those from Riyadh out of the 2025 Club ‘Super World Cup’ and erases the team led by the Portuguese without what could have been their sixth continental title. The hunt for Gento will have to wait.
The 1-0 in the first leg, together with the absence of Laporte and the injured Talisca and Al Ghannam, meant that Al Nassr had to come out with bite and extremely high pressure, although the first scare came after 20 seconds with a shot from Rahimi . The Moroccan was a mouse between the gaps in the cheese of the defense through which he sneaked in against Lajami, a winger far from the level of Al Ghannam, Al Fatil and Al Amri. The first of the forward’s two goals came at 28′ and he went up to the light two minutes later due to the VAR review. Al Nassr tried it with a shot and a header from Cristiano added to the dangerous play without a happy ending after the association of heels between Ghareeb and Otávio, protagonists with a goal later. The night would become darker when Rahimi scored the second in the 45th minute after which he put his hand to his ear. The hand of a ‘killer’ like Hernán Crespo can be seen in the incisive attacks of the player from Casablanca. There was still time for Mané to dribble past the goalkeeper, make him dizzy and give it to Ghareeb to provide a goal of hope before the break. Cristiano’s anger when he faced the way to the locker room was enormous.
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Cristiano RonaldoFAYEZ NURELDINEAFP
The second half maintained the very high pace of the first. And the aroma of the goal was in the air. Cristiano had it on the tip of his boot’s tongue without the expected success and with a failure inappropriate for his resume. The Madeira star’s touch moved the ball out of the field when the goal was scored. He had more chances that went to limbo: an offside shot that hit the post, a cross that he missed by a few centimeters and the double shot that Eisa stopped. Al Nassr was a hammer in the Al Ain field with nine corners in his favor, four for the Emirates.
The yellow jug went so far to the rival fountain that it broke with Otávio’s goal. The former Porto player went down the right wing and tied the score at two with the help of Eisa. Cristiano’s faith was increasing and even more so when his compatriot scored the double by heading in a free kick taken by Telles. Porto’s connection made it 3-2. Everything was equal so that the match went to extra time.
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Cristiano RonaldoStringerREUTERS
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Overtime was a rollercoaster of emotions. Yahya saw a yellow that ended in a red from VAR when he jumped over Al Khaibari and fell violently on Mohammed. The nightmare for those from Riyadh took color in the 103rd minute with a gift from a very affected Al Najjar to a center that escaped him and against which Al Shamsi only had to push to score. Cristiano had an epic shot in the second half of extra time and he did it with one of his specialties: the goal from the penalty spot. Jumo slightly pushed the Portuguese who fell like a feather so that the Oman referee Ahmed Al Kaf signaled the maximum penalty. Success of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner before the final drama.
The penalty shoot-out went against us with the failures of Brozovic and Telles. Eisa guessed the Croatian’s low shot to his left, while the former Sevilla player sent it to the crossbar. Al Ain’s players escaped the pressure. Rahimi, Kuka and Al Shamsi did not fail. Cristiano, who saw that he was left without a shot, asked for the third and did not miss again, but Otávio sent the ball into the sky of Riyadh to the delirium of the visitors. Cristiano’s dream of being Mr. Champions in Asia is shattered and, with a 12-point disadvantage to Al Hilal, he only has to focus on the Copa del Rey.
2024-03-12 04:59:18
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