Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr faced disappointment as they were eliminated from the Asian Champions League quarter-finals in a thrilling encounter against Al Ain, losing 3-1 on penalties after a pulsating game on Monday.
Despite Al Nassr’s 4-3 victory in the second leg, overturning a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, the match ended 4-4 on aggregate, leading to a penalty shootout where Al Ain emerged victorious.
Al Nassr’s foreign trio of Miroslav Brozovic, Alex Telles, and Otavio all faltered from the spot, allowing Al Ain to progress to the semi-finals, where they will meet either Al Hilal or Al Ittihad next month.
Al Ain’s goalkeeper, Khalid Eisa, redeemed himself with a crucial save from Brozovic’s opening penalty. With Soufiane Rahimi, Kaku, and Sultan Al Shamsi all converting for Al Ain, Otavio’s miss sealed Al Nassr’s fate.
The dramatic shootout concluded a thrilling clash at Al-Awwal Park, featuring seven goals and a red card. Despite Rahimi’s brace giving Al Ain a first-half advantage, Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s injury-time goal kept Al Nassr in contention.
After the restart, Al Nassr fought back strongly, with Otavio and Alex Telles finding the net to level the aggregate scores. However, Ayman Yahya’s red card early in extra time and Al Shamsi’s subsequent goal put Al Nassr on the back foot.
Ronaldo, scoring from a late penalty after being fouled in the area, forced the game into a shootout. However, Ronaldo was the only successful penalty taker for Al Nassr, as Al Ain progressed to the semi-finals for the first time since 2016.
Source: ghmediahub
