“Every time he plays, Ronaldo can’t shine”, “He wasn’t passing” - Fans blame Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate for holding Al-Nassr back despite 3-0 win
Al-Nassr fans on X have accused Anderson Talisca of holding Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. back despite the Brazilian forward scoring in their 3-0 win against Al-Ettifaq on Friday, September 20. The 30-year-old was accused of being selfish and only going for goal, rather than creating chances for his teammates even though he was deployed as an attacking midfielder.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave the visitors the lead in the 33rd minute, netting a penalty after Sultan Al-Ghannam drew a foul in the box. Their summer signing, Salem Al-Najdi, doubled their advantage in the 56th minute with a tight finish before Talisca made it 3-0 in the 70th minute.
Talisca was deployed as an attacking midfielder, playing the No.10 role behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite this, he created zero chances for his side and completed 11 passes from 14 attempts with an accuracy of 79 percent. He instead targeted the goal, landing three shots on target from four attempts.
Al-Nassr fans were furious with this as one posted:
"Ever time talisca plays ronaldo cant shine like he usually does, i empirically tested and saw that every time taliscass doesnt play (for example when he was injured) ronaldo does a masterclass. Taliscass is dragging the team back."
Another fan tweeted:
"We can clearly see the mindset pioli bought to the team, they performed much better today. talisca is still a problem to the team, he wasn't passing ball at all."
Other fan reactions can be viewed below:
"Yes Taliscka is the virus," one fan admitted.
"Talisca was poor. Dont let the goal fool u. Mane was excellent. Angelo is a work in progress but potential is there. Defense was solid and not tested much.If talisca gonna be in starting 11 then Ronaldo wont be scoring alot of goals as cr7 will be playing in wing as seen today," one fan posted.
"Taliscas shoots….he was lucky on the goal," another insisted.
"Talisca still not fit to this team. If you need talisca then CR7 should change the team or else he won’t score goals. Still now i didn’t understand the talisca position," another chimed in.
"Attacking midfielder never creates. Ronaldo created more than that bum," one fan added.
Cristiano Ronaldo reacts on social media after guiding Al-Nassr to a 3-0 win against Al-Ettifaq
Al-Nassr ace Cristiano Ronaldo hailed his side's effort after they dispatched Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq away from home in their Saudi Pro League fixture. Ronaldo also dedicated the win to their fans as Stefano Pioli kicked off his tenure as their new manager with three points.
The 39-year-old posted on his X account:
"Great team effort! Big win tonight—this one’s for the fans!"
Cristiano Ronaldo has been in fine form for Al-Nassr this season, garnering five goals and two assists in six appearances across all competitions. The Knights of Najd are currently fourth in the table with eight points from four games.