"This team is finished without Ronaldo", "End the season now" - Fans slam Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr after 3-0 loss to Almeria in pre-season clash
Fans have blasted Al-Nassr on X after they suffered a 3-0 loss to LaLiga 2 outfit UD Almeria in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence. The Knights of Najd were unable to end their pre-season with a win in their friendly clash on Thursday, August 8.
Luis Castro deployed a strong starting XI to face the Spanish second-division side, including the likes of Sadio Mane, Otavio, and Marcelo Brozovic. Despite Cristiano Ronaldo recently returning to full-team training, the 39-year-old, alongside Aymeric Laporte, weren't risked for this fixture.
Almeria looked like the more dominant team in the first half, with Luis Javier Suarez and Leo Baptistao nearly breaking the deadlock. The hosts took the lead after Ali Lajami scored an unfortunate own goal in the 35th minute.
Suarez doubled Almeria's advantage six minutes later after he was played down the middle, finishing well past Nawaf Al-Aqidi. Al-Nassr attempted to get back into the game after the break, but didn't look convincing. Cesar Montes made it 3-0 with a simple header following a corner in the 60th minute to seal the win for the Spanish club.
One fan reckons Al-Nassr are finished without Cristiano Ronaldo, posting:
"We are finished this team is finished without Ronaldo."
Another fan wrote:
"End the season now."
Other fan reactions can be seen below:
"We need a new coach asap man," one fan tweeted
"WE ARE EMBARRASSING OURSELVES," another added
"Al ittihad won against Inter Milan and here Al Nassr can't even beat Almeria," one fan noted
"No other team in saudi consides the embarassing goals al nassr concede like ever week what is the goalkeeper doing for that 3 goal...." one fan typed
"@Cristiano please leave the club. They are not trying to help you achieve anything," another chimed in
"0 trophies incoming, just waiting for World Cup at this point," one fan admitted
How have Al-Nassr fared this summer in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence?
Al-Nassr were soundly defeated 3-0 by Almeria in their final friendly of their pre-season tour. Let's take a quick look at all their results this summer to see how they have fared without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luis Castro's side have only won one friendly from eight games. While they managed to defeat Maritimo 1-0, they were held to 1-1 draws against Louletano DC and SC Farense.
Al-Nassr then lost 1-0 to Portimonense, before being soundly thrashed 4-0 by Porto. They didn't fare much better after that either, drawing 0-0 to Lusitano 1911, and then losing 1-0 to Granada and 3-0 to Almeria on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. will be seeking to put their string of disappointing results behind them when their 2024-25 campaign kicks off next week. They face Al-Taawoun in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on Wednesday, August 14.