Cristiano Ronaldo given night off by Al Nassr while Al Ain bid to stay perfect in AFC Champions League
Al Nassr will be without star man Cristiano Ronaldo for their AFC Champions League clash against Pakhtakor on Monday after the Portugal striker was rested for the trip to Uzbekistan. Ronaldo , 41, was conspicuous by his absence when the Al Nassr squad touched down in Tashkent on Saturday, and it has since emerged that he, along with Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan, had been left at home by…
Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Al Nassr's AFC Champions League match against Pakhtakor on Monday due to resting by the team's manager, Ange Postecoglou. The Portugal star, 41, was absent when the Al Nassr squad arrived in Uzbekistan on Saturday. Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were also left behind by the Australian coach, who has been concerned about the workload on his players this season. Joao Felix and Sadio Mane, however, will be relied upon to score goals in Ronaldo's place.
The match against Pakhtakor comes after Al Nassr's opening game against Al Ain ended in a 4-0 defeat. Al Nassr bounced back with a 3-1 win against Neftchi Fergana. Pakhtakor currently has one point from their three opening AFC matches and hopes that Iraq striker Aymen Hussein can score in continental competition for the first time since joining the club this summer.
Both Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli have a perfect record in Asian competition so far, with Al Ain leading the table and scoring 10 times. Al Ain will play Al Ittihad in their next ACL match in Jeddah on Monday. The UAE club faces a challenge in the form of powerful teams and seasoned players, but manager Vladimir Ivic is confident in his squad's abilities. Shabab Al Ahli, on the other hand, will face Al Hilal, their Saudi Pro League leaders, on Tuesday. The Brazilian coach, Andre Jardine, expects a tough test for his side.
Written by urgent.news from The National Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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