waiting for cristiano ronaldoAl-Nasr’s competitive debut ended on Sunday night as the Portuguese forward was in Saudi Arabia’s starting XI against Ittefaq. Although Al-Nasr claimed a 1-0 victory in the match, ronaldo His name was not found in the scoresheet. The superstar forward came close to providing an assist but his pass was not converted by a teammate. After seeing Ronaldo draw a blank in the match, fans flooded social media with memes aimed at the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner.
There were some promising signs for Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nasr in a potentially US$200 million deal. However, Ronaldo’s league debut in front of 22,862 fans was a mixed bag after this week’s lively 5-4 exhibition defeat. Lionel MessiParis Saint Germain. Here’s how fans responded:
congratulations@ManUtd– That’s what happens when you hire an arrogant coach who is disrespectful @CristianoToo bad he leaves – and then replaces her with someone I’ve never heard of who sounds like an Austrian sausage. #weghurst pic.twitter.com/Gk2rCo9aMw
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 22, 2023
While Arsenal were seriously beating Man Utd, Ronaldo was busy scoring goals in Riyadh pic.twitter.com/RqSkNgtY9H
— Acholi Godd (@sk_bongomin93) January 23, 2023
Ronaldo is by no means the most underrated player against an unknown club pic.twitter.com/KnnworX2ZA
— Troll Football (@Troll_Football) January 22, 2023
He was by no means joking about Ronaldo’s debut pic.twitter.com/QR9LIPuXOO
— Context Ronaldo (@ContextRonaldo) January 22, 2023
Mid Mid Mid player.. advised him to retire early pic.twitter.com/gzjh4wzfII
— Kingsley Chidera (@kingchi150) January 22, 2023
Messi in the World Cup final against France
Ronaldo vs someone named Al-Ittifaq.
Life is perfect now.pic.twitter.com/NTC2QpiIN9— FCB Albiceleste (@FCBAlbiceleste) January 22, 2023
@Cristiano
can you make me smile again pls pic.twitter.com/21VshdqgmF— MH MH (@mhmh65328709) January 23, 2023
We didn’t buy Cristiano Ronaldo for 300 million only to drop a total sticker against one of the worst teams in the league.
What is this nonsense? Where is the goal? pic.twitter.com/vEx0UhuzzI
— Mojeda (@Mojeda101) January 22, 2023
Ronaldo, leading Al Nasr as captain, made a low-key start to the first half, twice losing the ball at the trick as his teammates struggled to get him the ball.
Ronaldo’s initial shot from the edge of the box was deflected and Abdulmajid Al Sulaihim’s cross was almost met by a header. Anderson Taliska scored the only goal in the 31st minute of the game.
Moments later, Ronaldo is met with a “Sew!” shouted. Every time he touched the ball, he lit up a free kick from an inviting position just outside the penalty area.
Al Nasr’s front three started to click in the second half and Ronaldo set up Pete Martinez and Talisca — after some trademark stepovers — for a quick succession of chances.
A swing and a miss from a bicycle kick showed Ronaldo warming up to the task, and then he attempted a shot from an almost impossible angle after dribbling into the box.
With AFP input
But there was no goal for Ronaldo, who was watched by his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, with a win that kept Al Nasr top of the Saudi Pro League.
With AFP input
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