Al Ain end Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream after knocking Al Nassr out of Asian Champions League
Portuguese star’s goal fails to save Saudi team from losing quarter-finals on penalties
Riyadh: Cristiano Ronaldo scored in extra time but Al Nassr side were dumped out of the Asian Champions League quarter-finals on penalties by Al Ain on Monday.
The 39-year-old Portuguese was the only Al Nassr player to score in the shoot-out as his Saudi side went out 3-1 on penalties, the tie having ended 4-4 on aggregate.
It was a frustrating night for the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward, who missed a sitter from three yards with the goal gaping in normal time in Riyadh.
Beaten 1-0 in the first leg in UAE, Ronaldo took the quarter-final to penalties when he held his nerve from the spot in the 118th minute.
Missed opportunities
His calmly taken spot-kick made it 4-3 on the night to the hosts, who had Ayman Yahya sent off in the 98th minute.
But the home team failed with three of their four efforts in the shoot-out to send Al Ain into the last four of Asia’s top club competition.
The Brazilian international defender Alex Telles, also formerly of Manchester United, was among the Al Nassr players to fluff his lines during the shoot-out.
Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa made amends for a disappointing display when he saved Brozovic’s opening penalty and, with Soufiane Rahimi, Kaku and Sultan Al Shamsi all converting, Otavio’s miss meant Al Nassr were eliminated.
Dramatic end to thrilling clash
The shootout brought a dramatic end to a thrilling clash at Al Awwal Park that featured seven goals and a red card, with Al Ain building on their first leg lead during the opening 45 minutes.
Rahimi, scorer of Al Ain’s first leg winner, put the visitors in control with goals in the 28th and 45th minutes but Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s strike five minutes into injury time kept Al Nassr’s hopes alive.
Otavio’s low drive was redirected into his own goal by Khaled Eisa six minutes after the restart and Alex Telles levelled the aggregate scores 18 minutes from time with a low free kick that flew through a crowd of players to beat Eisa.
Other quarter-finals
In Tuesday’s quarter-finals, Ulsan face Jeonbuk in an all-Korean tie locked at 1-1.
The Saudi sides Al Ittihad and Al Hilal also clash, with Al Hilal ahead 2-0 from the first leg.
Harry Kewell’s Yokohama F-Marinos host Chinese side Shandong Taishan on Wednesday with a 2-1 lead from the first leg.