Cristiano Ronaldo had a forgettable match against Al Nassr even though his team won against Abha in the King Cup of Champions.
Ronaldo was not on the scoresheet nor provided an assist, as Sami Al Najei, Abdullah Al Khaibari and Mohammed Moran scored for Rudi Garcia's men.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was so angry after his last Saudi Pro League loss to Al Ittihad, he threw his captain's armband on the ground and spilled a water bottle.
And his mood did not improve much because at the end of the first half of the match against Abha, Ronaldo was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball.
The referee blew the first half whistle as Ronaldo ran with the ball at his feet and blew another whistle as he left the field. "He's NOT happy"
Cristiano Ronaldo is shown a yellow card for his behavior on the field during the first half pic.twitter.com/s9M4g2JNrd
– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 14, 2023
Ronaldo failed to add to his eight-goal tally in Saudi Arabia and for the first time in his time with Al Nassr, he was substituted by the coach after a third consecutive game without scoring. .
He was scored in the 87th minute for Anderson Talisca. The match was decided, but Ronaldo was still disappointed when the camera turned to him sitting on the bench to watch the final minutes.
Until recently, he looked much happier in his new environment after his contract with Manchester United ended as agreed by both following his controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
And not surprisingly, fans erupted into a backlash after seeing Ronaldo's moody look on the bench. One person wrote:
"Cristiano Ronaldo is the ONLY player on the bench in 5 different leagues!"
Another added:
"Ronaldo was substituted in a cup game today, but his fans acted as if they couldn't see anything."
A third person chimes in:
"Ronaldo is empty-handed, gets a yellow card and is substituted. Day is over."
The fourth said:
"Ronaldo was substituted in the 86th minute of the national cup quarter-final without scoring or assisting. Damn."
One end user joked:
"Ronaldo is always on the bench even in the Saudi Arabian league."
Ronaldo and Al Nassr will play again against the same opponents when they host Abha at the tournament on Saturday.
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Erling Haaland set a Champions League record with five goals, beating RB Leipzig yesterday to take Manchester City to the quarter-finals 7-0.
Haaland set a new club record with 39 goals in a season as Pep Guardiola's side won 8-1 on aggregate to reach the last eight for the sixth straight season.
"My strength is scoring goals," said Haaland. "A lot of it is about moving quickly in your head and trying to put it where the goalkeeper isn't."
Abu Dhabi City are yet to reach the Champions League but lacked a striker of Haaland's quality who could make the difference in the final stages.
Only 22 years old he has scored his 33 goals in his 25 appearances in Europe's premier club competitions. “First of all, I am proud to play in this competition. I love it,” added Harland. "Five goals! I can't believe we won 7-0"
Although the snowy weather resembled Haaland's home country, City did not succumb to the pressure and retained their Champions League dream.
After his 1-1 draw in East Germany three weeks ago, the clash had been nicely balanced, but the injury-ridden Leipzig side had not played like a match against a top-flight opponent. I didn't see it.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose said: "It was an unbelievable performance.
"They didn't let us control the game at any stage. The end result is disappointing for us, but they really deserve it. ”
Guardiola kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserves as City won 1-0 at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend.
Ilkay Gundogan should have scored the opening goal just three minutes after De Bruyne's welcome cross.
Luck was involved in City's opener as VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs. This resulted in a penalty that neither the City players nor the spectators noticed.
record chance denied
Haaland continued his perfect record from points for City with his sixth penalty of the season with Janis shooting from the left side of his Blaswich.
Two minutes later it was 2-0 when Haaland passed De Bruyne. De Bruyne slammed the shot over the bar and used his speed and strength to head in and hold off the rebound. Haaland had three before half-time as Ruben Diaz headed off Jack Grealish's corner post and Amadou Haidara tried to clear, but bounced City's number 9 into the net.
Four minutes into the second half, Haaland began to break the record after Gundogan's stylish finish at the far corner rubbed Leipzig's wounds with more salt.
First, Blaswich saved his first header to match Tommy Johnson's record 38 goals for City in the 1928–29 season, before he went home on his second try.
Haaland scored another rebound as he set a new record in three months, after saving Braswich from Manuel Akanji.
In doing so, he equaled Lionel's Messi and Luis' Adriano's record of scoring his five goals in his one game of the Champions League. But Guardiola didn't give his star striker another record chance when he was replaced by Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.
"If he achieves all the milestones by the age of 22, his life will be boring," said Guardiola.
Instead, there were the final words when De Bruyne scored a spectacular shot into the corner in stoppage time.
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