It was supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s moment, as he stepped up to take a stoppage-time penalty for Al Nassr. Known for his calm composure in high pressure situations, the Portugal international had converted all 18 off his previous penalties for Al Nassr, but this time, the shot went over the bar, shocking a home crowd of 14,519.
It was enough as Al-Taawoun sealed a shock 1-0 win in their Round of 16 encounter of the ongoing King’s Cup, Saudi Arabia’s premier knockout competition.
Al-Taawoun took the lead through Waleed Al-Ahmad, who converted a header with 20 minutes remaining. Then in the 95th-minute, Al-Ahmad was whistled for a foul in the penalty area, but Lady Luck had other plans as Ronaldo missed his attempt.
Watch video of Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty miss
Now, Ronaldo and Al Nassr have two more trophies to compete for this season. At the Saudi Pro League, they are six points behind leaders Al Hilal after eight games, and have seven points from three fixtures in the group stage of the Asian Champions League.
Al Nassr face Al Hilal in the Riyadh derby on Friday. Speaking to the Saudi Pro League’s media team, head coach Stefano Pioli revealed that the prospect of working with Ronaldo was a huge factor in him accepting the job.
“Of course, I have always thought that Cristiano is a great champion. ut above all, a great professional with a great work ethic, a great culture of always trying to express oneself to the maximum,” he said.
“And therefore, I am discovering a boy who is no longer young, but with the same enthusiasm, with the same passion. As when he was a kid, he wanted to do things in wanting to always try to give the best, to reach the maximum, to score many goals and help the team. So, definitely a pleasant surprise.
“The fact that there is Cristiano in the team was also an important thing and so I accepted very willingly with a lot of enthusiasm, with a great desire to be able to do well,” he added.
