An unthinkable Cristiano Ronaldo miss vs. Al Ain in the AFC Champions League quarterfinal on Monday proved crucial as Al Nassr were eliminated on penalties.
United Arab Emirates side Al Ain won the first leg at home 1-0 but faced a tall task in the return leg in Saudi Arabia. They shocked the hosts taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, but then the Saudi side mounted a comeback.
Ronaldo had a massive opportunity to tie the aggregate score in the 61st minute when Al Ain’s goalkeeper spilled the ball right in front of the Portuguese star. What happened next was shocking.
Cristiano Ronaldo miss vs. Al Ain
CRISTIANO FROM 3 YARDS TO TIE IT ON AGGREGATE pic.twitter.com/Kg24bEqCWd
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2024
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) March 12, 2024
Ronaldo needs to retirepic.twitter.com/V3RcEhHwly
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) March 11, 2024
Ronaldo scores that chance 99 times out of 100, but Monday’s game was the one shocking exception.
He wanted to sneak it in at the near post away from the goalkeeper but got it all wrong.
The blown chance just goes to show that even the greatest players in the world can make mistakes.
Al Nassr managed to find a third goal to tie the aggregate and send the game to extra time. Al Ain took the lead in the 103rd minute but then Ronaldo got some redemption as he scored from the penalty spot in the 118th minute.
CRISTIANO RONALDO IN THE 118TH MINUTE AND WE'RE GOING TO PENALTIES
Watch FREE on CBS Sports Golazo Network via the @CBSSports app, @PlutoTV or here » https://t.co/qS0QO1yOwM pic.twitter.com/Nx4zZ34eXc— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2024
Ronaldo showed he’s much more lethal from 12 yards than he is from three.
CR7 converted another penalty kick in the shootout, but the same couldn’t be said for his teammates as Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles and Otávio all failed to convert their penalties.
Brozović ❌
Telles ❌
Ronaldo ✅
Otávio ❌Cristiano was the only one of Al-Nassr's four penalty takers to score from the spot in the shootout pic.twitter.com/WiLyZk881l— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2024
Mr. Champions League drops out at the quarterfinal stage.
