"Drop Ronaldo for the next game", "Penaldo ghosted again" - Twitter explodes as Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr play out 2-2 draw with Abha
Fans reacted online after Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr conceded a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Abha at home in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, October 6.
The Knights of Najd opened the deadlock in the third minute after a brilliant team move. Cristiano Ronaldo exquisitely backheeled the ball to Marcelo Brozovic. The Croatian then set up Otavio who buried the ball into the back of the net.
Al-Nassr continued to threaten and were rewarded for their dominance in the 29th minute. Sadio Mane fired a great cross into the path of Anderson Talisca who calmly finished past the keeper.
Abha, however, got back into the game just four minutes later after Otavio had a moment of madness by tackling Zakaria Al Sudani in the box, conceding a penalty. Saad Bguir made no mistake from the spot to half the deficit.
The away team had two glorious chances to level the scores in stoppage time but were unable to make the most of their chances. However, they looked much more composed in the second half and were able to reap their rewards in the 92nd minute.
Karl Toko Ekambi shocked Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. at the death by driving the ball into the top-left corner from outside the box. This ended Al-Nassr's 10-game win streak across all competitions, securing an important point for 15th-placed Abha.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) exploded with one fan blaming Talisca for the loss:
"Talisca makes the team weak ... Nobody gonna save us from Al hilal, itiihad , if this lazy talisca will start. is he a striker or what? never track back or build up. Cris has to deep drop himself to carry the ball, and this mtf always stay to box. Mark my word."
Another fan blamed Cristiano Ronaldo, imploring Luis Castro to drop him for the next game. The Portugal megastar had a poor game, missing several big chances to score. He also completed zero accurate long balls.
"Drop Ronaldo for the next game otherwise we won’t win bruh"
"Penaldo ghosted again"
Al-Nassr are third in the Saudi Pro League with 19 points having played nine games, three points behind league leaders Al-Taawoun.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr vs Abha: Exploring the stats from Saudi Pro League clash
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr dropped points for the first time in 10 games as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw against Abha at home. Let's take a look at the stats to see how both teams performed.
Luis Castro's men dominated possession with 60% of the ball. They also completed 517 passes with an accuracy of 86%. In contrast, Abha had 40% possession and registered 345 passes with an accuracy of 76%.
Al-Alami landed a mammoth 25 shots in total, with six being on target. On the other hand, Abha had eight shots with six on target and were the far more clinical team on the night.