"Ronaldo thought he was Messi" "Should just retire" - Fans slam Cristiano Ronaldo for his 'pathetic' performance in Al-Nassr's 2-2 draw
Fans on X have blasted Cristiano Ronaldo after his extremely underwhelming performance in Al-Nassr's 2-2 draw at Al-Riyadh on Thursday, May 23. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner missed a host of big chances. He was unable to prevent his side from dropping points for the eighth time in the Saudi Pro League this season.
Al-Nassr got off to the perfect start when Otavio's deflected effort found the back of the net in the 15th minute. Ronaldo had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 in the 25th minute when he found himself in a one-on-one situation. However, he surprisingly dinked the ball well off target. Al-Riyadh punished the visitors a minute later, leveling the scores through Andre Gray's clinical finish.
Cristiano Ronaldo had another chance 10 minutes later with his header going over the crossbar. Mohammed Al-Aqel gave the hosts the lead in the first minute of stoppage time with an acrobatic volley. The Portugal ace had another moment to be the hero shortly after but he fluffed an easy tap-in with a miskick.
Cristiano Ronaldo's fortunes didn't improve in the second half after he missed another tap-in in the 56th minute. To make matters worse, Aymeric Laporte was given a straight red card in the 63rd minute after punching Al-Aqel on the arm. Fortunately for Al-Nassr, Meshari Al-Nemer scored in the 97th minute to rescue them a point.
Fans slammed Cristiano Ronaldo for his performance with one posting:
"Ronaldo thought he was Messi"
Another fan wrote:
"Blud should just retire"
Other fan reactions can be viewed below:
"Is Portugal really starting this man as striker in euro 2024?", one fan questioned
"Ronaldo missing 3 chances in a single play.... Its not looking good brev", one fan said
"My idol has gone and bottled a record", another wrote
"Disgusting form actually pathetic", one fan pointed out
"There finnally seeing that hes washed", another added
However, some fans also defended the Portuguese sensation:
"I mean he is been performing all season, the question is what is Mane and Ayman doing", one wrote
"I think he is playing lightly because euro is coming small injury can cost big things for euros", another stated
"Respect ronaldo he looked tired", another chimed in
How did Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr fare in their 2-2 draw against Al-Riyadh?
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr were held to their second draw in as many games following their disappointing 2-2 draw against Al-Riyadh in the SPL. They remain in second place with 79 points from 33 games so let's take a look at how both teams fared in their fixture.
Despite being down to 10 men for most of the second half, Al-Nassr dominated possession with 75 percent of the ball. They also attempted 636 passes with an accuracy of 87 percent. In contrast, the hosts had 25 percent possession, attempting 222 passes with an accuracy of 65 percent.
The Knights of Najd also looked more threatening up front but were rather wasteful on the night, landing 24 shots in total with six being on target. They also struck the woodwork twice via Ayman Yahya and Sadio Mane. On the other hand, Al-Riyadh mustered five shots with two being on target.