Cristiano Ronaldo Draws Blank On Al-Nassr Debut

Cristiano Ronaldo Draws Blank On Al-Nassr Debut
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Fecha de publicación: 
23 January 2023
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The wait for Cristiano Ronaldo's competitive debut for Al-Nassr ended on Sunday night as the Portuguese forward featured in the starting XI of the Saudi Arabian side against Ettifaq. Though Al-Nassr went on to claim a 1-0 win in the match, Ronaldo couldn't find his name on the scoresheet. The superstar forward came close to providing an assist but his pass wasn't converted by the teammate. Seeing Ronaldo draw blank in the match, fans have flooded social media with memes, targeting the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner.

There were a few promising signs for Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in a potential 200 million USD deal. However, Ronaldo's league debut had an anticlimactic feel in front of 22,862 fans after he scored twice in this week's lively 5-4 exhibition defeat to Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo, leading out Al Nassr as captain, made a low-key start in the first half, twice losing the ball with attempted trickery as his teammates struggled to get him on the ball.

Ronaldo's early shot from the edge of the box was deflected over, and he nearly met Abdulmajeed Al Sulaiheem's cross that was headed in by Anderson Talisca for the game's only goal on 31 minutes.

Shortly afterwards, Ronaldo, met by shouts of "Siu!" every time he touched the ball, blazed over with a free kick from an inviting position just outside the penalty area.

Al Nassr's front three began to click in the second half and Ronaldo set up Pity Martinez and Talisca -- after some trademark stepovers -- for close chances in quick succession.

A swing and a miss at a bicycle kick showed Ronaldo was warming to his task, and he then attempted a shot from a nearly impossible angle after a dribble into the box.

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