Al Nassr manager Rudi Garcia has blamed Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo for his club’s Saudi Super Cup semi-final ouster.
Al-Nassr were knocked out of the Super Cup by Al-Ittihad on January 26 at the King Fahd International Stadium.
Romarinho scored the opening goal of the contest in the 15th minute.
Ronaldo had a chance to equalise for his team, but he could only direct his header straight at the opposition goalkeeper which gave way to a counter attack that led to Abderrazak Hamdallah’s strike in the 43rd minute.
Anderson Talisca scored a consolation goal for Al-Nassr in the 67th minute but Mohannad Al-Shanqeeti made it 3-1 in the 93rd minute.
Garcia insisted that Ronaldo’s inability to convert his chance cost his side the win.
“One of the things that changed the course of the game was Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed opportunity in the first half,” Sport Bible quoted Garcia as saying.
“I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They presented a much better first half than us, and we played a good second half, but unfortunately we were not able to adjust the result.”
Ronaldo has made two appearances for Al-Nassr this season so far.
Al-Nassr are first in the Saudi Pro League with a total of 33 points from 14 matches.
They play Al Fateh next in a league game on February 3.
