Ronaldo was lackluster in the first match of the AFC Champions League
*Score: Ghareeb 62', Qassem 72'.
Ronaldo did not leave a significant mark in about 90 minutes on the field, except for the pass that contributed to the opening goal. He opened his armpit for Marcelo Brozovic to rush into the penalty area, allowing the Croatian midfielder to cross for Abdulrahman Ghareeb to tap the ball into the net, hitting the feet of the two home players.
Apart from this situation, Ronaldo did not have many opportunities on the field when Iranian defenders followed him most of the time. The best ball came for the 38-year-old superstar in the 20th minute, when Sultan Al Ghannam passed inside for the captain to head in from about 6 meters away, but the ball went straight to the goalkeeper. Ronaldo expressed regret for wasting the opportunity, so he slammed his hand on the post.
Two minutes later, Ronaldo missed a pass in his own half and this time he was more upset when he kicked the blade of grass. By the end of the first half, he was in pain after a strong kick from his opponent, but continued to play. In the second half, he was even more lackluster, with only one chance, a long shot that hit a Persepolis defender and went across the line. Coach Luis Castro replaced Ronaldo in the 90th minute, when they prepared to meet strong opponent Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League three days later.
The AFC Champions League limits each team to five players from outside Asia, so for this match, Al Nassr did not register Anderson Talisca or defender Ghislain Konan. But the away team still has stars like Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Brozovic, Otavio and midfielder Aymeric Laporte. But it wasn't until the 52nd minute that Al Nassr was outmatched and scored the home goal thanks to two internal goals.
The situation where the home player was sent off was also rare, when midfielder Milad Sarlak stepped on Ronaldo's toe. The referee gave Sarlak a yellow card and then turned away, but Otavio shouted that this was this player's second yellow card in the match. The referee remembered so he indirectly showed the red card and sent the Iranian midfielder off the field. If he had remembered that Sarlak had received a yellow card before, he might not have drawn a second yellow card.
An unsightly field surface also reduces the professional quality of the match, when many times the player passes poorly but the ball bounces continuously. Persepolis is still under penalty of playing on an empty field, partly preventing them from being able to hit the goal.
After the first round of Group E, Al Nassr is first with three points, while Al-Duhail and Istiklol are behind with one point. In the second round, Ronaldo and his teammates returned to Riyadh to receive Istiklol (Tajikistan) on the evening of October 2.
