Cristiano Ronaldo had a uncommon second to overlook as his Al-Nassr aspect have been dumped out of the Asian Champions League on the quarter-final stage following a penalty shootout defeat to Al-Ain.
Trailing 1-0 from the primary leg, Al-Nassr confronted an uphill battle as a double from Al-Ain ahead Soufiane Rahimi additional elevated the deficit at Riyadh’s 25,000-seater KSU Stadium.
However Abdulrahman Ghareeb struck for Al-Nassr on the stroke of half-time earlier than Khalid Eisa directed the ball into his personal web shortly into the second interval to depart the hosts only one purpose behind with 40 minutes remaining.
Ronaldo, 39, arguably probably the most clutch participant within the historical past of the sport, had a golden likelihood to attract the house staff degree on the hour-mark as Marcelo Brozovic and Sadio Mane mixed on the fitting flank earlier than the ball fell to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner on the rebound.
However, in some way, the veteran Portugal worldwide fired large of Eisa’s publish from close to point-blank vary, along with his shell-shocked team-mates trying on in pure astonishment.
Simply ten minutes later, former Manchester United star Alex Telles scored direct from a free-kick to make it 3-3 on the evening, sending Al-Nassr followers into raptures and establishing an attractive ultimate 20 minutes of regular time.
Al-Nassr appeared to have all of the momentum heading into extra-time, however misplaced Ayman Yahya to a straight purple card earlier than Sultan Al Shamsi struck to place the guests again in entrance within the 103rd minute.
Ronaldo stepped as much as convert from the spot to make it 4-4 within the 118th minute and the groups needed to be separated by way of a shootout, the place Al-Ain ran out 3-1 winners, with the legendary ex-Actual Madrid attacker taking Al-Nassr’s solely profitable penalty.
‘Soccer justice was not with us. We practised penalty kicks and the gamers have the duty to take them,’ Al-Nassr head coach Luis Castro mentioned within the wake of his aspect’s loss.
‘Particular person errors are our duty, together with accidents and suspensions.
‘We had 30 pictures on Al Ain’s purpose, we had alternatives within the recreation and the second half was higher than the primary.
‘These are tough moments for us.
‘However I congratulate the gamers on the sport, taking into consideration the difficulties we suffered.’
Castro mentioned he was not ‘afraid’ of shedding his job, with stress mounting for the Portuguese to get replaced.
‘I’m not afraid of being fired,’ he added.
‘My presence at Al-Nassr is due to my arduous work, and I’m not right here only for the outcomes.
‘The Arab world debates outcomes, not actions. Life isn’t just this.’
For extra tales like this, test our sport web page.
Comply with Metro Sport for the newest information on
Fb, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Chelsea made ‘mistake’ not signing Cristiano Ronaldo, says William Gallas
MORE : Lewis Hamilton needed to pull ‘destroyed’ Oliver Bearman from his automobile after Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
MORE : AI robotic sparks outrage after ‘groping’ reporter throughout stay interview
?w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1 "The traces of 75-year-old Panagiotis from Tseri have been lost – have you seen him? (PHOTO)")
