After a 3–1 loss to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup semi-final, Al Nassr manager Rudi Garcia blamed Cristiano Ronaldo for the loss.
The match, which took place at the King Fahd International Stadium, began with Romarinho’s goal for Al Ittihad after 15 minutes.
And just before the break, Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah doubled Al Ittihad’s lead.
In the second half, Anderson Talisca pulled one back for Al Nassr in the 67th minute, but Muhannad Al Shanqeeti sealed the win for Al Ittihad in injury time.
However, it was a missed opportunity by new superstar Cristiano Ronaldo which Garcia believes will be a turning point in the match.
The ball came to Ronaldo from a cross and it looked as if the Portuguese was going to open his account for Al Nassr, but his header went straight to goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, who made a fairly easy save to deny it.
Al Ittihad launched a quick counterattack, but the ball was intercepted and finished off Ronaldo on the left. However, the 37-year-old lost possession of the ball and Hamdallah headed in the second from Romarinho’s cross.
And after the game, García raised Ronaldo’s chance as a turning point in the game. He said:
“One of the things that changed the course of the game was Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed opportunity in the first half,” the former Roma and Lyon manager told reporters.
“I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They presented a much better first half than us, and we played a good second half, but unfortunately we couldn’t adjust the result”.
Adding insult to injury, opposition supporters subjected Ronaldo to Lionel Messi chants.
It hasn’t been the best start to Ronaldo’s career at the Saudi club. He has yet to score his first competitive goal for his new team and now the coach has publicly blamed him for the cup loss.
