“Media won’t show you this” - Cristiano Ronaldo gives up chance to score 850th career goal by letting teammate take penalty, fans react
Fans online have reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo giving a penalty to Al-Nassr teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb in their win over Al-Shabab on Tuesday, August 29.
Al-Nassr won their second Saudi Pro League game of the season with another conclusive win on Tuesday. After beating Al-Fateh 5-0 last time around, they hammered Al-Shabab 4-0. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Al-Fateh and could have had one on Tuesday as well.
The Portuguese star opened the scoring for Luis Castro's side in the 13th minute via a penalty. He then doubled their lead in the 38th minute, again scoring from the penalty spot. Sadio Mane then scored two minutes later via an assist from Ronaldo.
In the second half, Al-Nassr received another penalty in the 63rd minute, giving Ronaldo a chance to complete his hat-trick. However, the 38-year-old gave the ball to Abdulrahman Ghareeb to open his goalscoring account for the season. Unfortunately the Saudi Arabian forward missed.
Al-Shabab midfielder Ever Banega was sent off in the 78th minute before Sultan Al-Ghanam completed the scoring for Al-Alamy in the 80th minute.
Ronaldo not only passed the opportunity to complete his second consecutive hat-trick but also to reach 850 career goals for club and country. Fans stormed on X (formerly known as Twitter) to hail the Al-Nassr captain's selflessness. One fan commented:
"Cristiano Ronaldo supporting his teammate Ghareeb after he missed the penalty. The media won’t show you this side of him."
Here are some more reactions on the legendary forward's act of selflessness:
Cristiano Ronaldo leads Al-Nassr to consecutive wins after early hiccup
Luis Castro's side came into this season on the back of their Arab Club Champions Cup triumph, where Cristiano Ronaldo scored six goals in six games.
With such momentum, Al-Nassr supporters were confident going into the Saudi Pro League season but were handed a blow in their first two games. They lost 2-1 against Al-Ettifaq in Ronaldo's absence and 2-0 against Al-Taawoun after his return.
The Knights of Najd, though, made a big comeback. They qualified for the AFC Champions League by beating Shabab Al-Ahli in the playoff, coming from 2-1 down to winning 4-2.
They then beat Al-Fateh 5-0 and Al-Shabab 4-0, courtesy of five goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and three from Sadio Mane.
Al-Nassr are currently sixth in the league table and will next face Al-Hazm away on September 2.