"Been invisible the whole season", "Not fit for Al-Nassr" - Fans slam Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate despite win in SPL clash
Al-Nassr fans have criticized Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate Anderson Talisca on X after he struggled to make an impact in their 2-1 win against Al-Shabab. The two sides faced each other in their Saudi Pro League fixture at the Al-Shabab Club Stadium on Friday, October 18.
The Knights of Najd struggled to break the hosts down in the first half. Fortunately, Aymeric Laporte's 69th-minute header broke the deadlock following a corner. However, disaster struck in the 90th minute when Ali Al Hassan scored an own goal to make it 1-1.
Just when it seemed Al-Nassr would drop points, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to the plate and converted his penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Summer signing Mohamed Simakan was dismissed minutes later due to a poor foul, conceding a penalty in the process. Abderrazak Hamdallah struck the post, resulting in Al-Nassr securing a narrow 2-1 win.
Meanwhile, Talisca struggled to offer much of a threat going forward and was substituted after just 57 minutes. The 30-year-old created zero chances, landed zero shots on target, and lost three duels.
One fan reacted by posting:
"Talisca is a very bad player and is not fit for Al-Nassr. He is bad defensively and offensively and his presence is too high for the team"
Another fan tweeted:
"He has been invisible whole season,till now and u noticing now lol,he was on bangers last season and he has bad linkup play ,in second half of season it was visible but you said talisca is one of the most important player ..."
Other reactions can be viewed below:
"Talisca is holding the team back," one fan commented
"Maybe it’s time to sell or bench Talisca man. His game has dropped for real," another added
"Imagine my shock seeing Al Nassr score as soon as Talisca is subbed off. Ghareeb should be starting over him," another posted
"I don't trust the manager. He started Talisca, his ball knowledge must be poor," one fan chimed in
"Better.. When he touches a lot of balls he just ruins everything," one fan insisted
How did Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr fare in their 2-1 win against Al-Shabab?
Despite facing a late penalty scare, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. were able to salvage all three points following their 2-1 win against Al-Shabab. They are currently second in the SPL standings with 17 points from seven games, four points behind Al-Hilal.
The visitors dominated possession with 59 percent of the ball, completing 398 passes with an accuracy of 87 percent. In comparison, Al-Shabab had 41 percent possession and completed 239 passes with an accuracy of 77 percent.
Both sides had their moments in attack. Cristiano Ronaldo's side landed 17 shots in total with five being on target (xG of 2.05). Meanwhile, the hosts mustered 12 shots in total, landing three on target, with an xG of 1.47.