Saudi Arabia Ronaldo’s Al Nassr knocked out of Asian Champions League after penalty defeat

Al Nassr were eliminated from the Asian Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Al Ain of the UAE on Monday night.

The Saudi Arabian club lost the penalty shootout at the end of the two-legged clash, having won 4-3 on the night at Al Awwal Park after losing the first leg 1-0 last week. Alex Telles, Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio all failed to convert their penalties in the shootout, with Cristiano Ronaldo the only player of Al Nassr’s four penalty takers to score as they lost 3-1.

Ronaldo had also scored from the spot with just two minutes remaining in extra time, after Abdulrahman Abdullah Ghareeb and Telles had both scored, along with an own goal from Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.

Soufiane Rahimi scored twice in regulation time for the UAE side, with Sultan Alshamsi also finding the net in extra time, with both players finding the net in the shootout. Al Ain are the first confirmed semi-finalist, with just one team from Saudi Arabia confirmed to be in the last four.

Al Hilal hold a two-goal advantage over fellow Saudi side Al Ittihad in their last eight tie, while Tuesday will also see the return leg between South Korean side Ulsan and domestic rivals Jeonbuk Motors, with the score tied at 1-1. Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan lead Chinese side Shandong Taishan 2-1 at the halfway stage of the other quarter-final tie.


Dennis Mabuka

Dennis Mabuka is a seasoned Kenyan journalist with 18 years of experience covering sports events. He is currently a sport content creator with en.Africatopsports.com.

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