Al-Nassr 0-1 Al-Taawoun: Ronaldo misses stoppage-time penalty in last-16 cup defeat

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Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr were knocked out of the King Cup of Champions at the last-16 stage, following a 1-0 defeat at home to Al-Taawoun.

Waleed Al-Ahmed got the winning goal for the visitors after 71 minutes, but Al-Nassr spurned a brilliant opportunity to draw level right at the end of the match when they were awarded a penalty.

But Ronaldo blasted the 96th-minute spot kick over the bar to hand victory to their opponents.

Both teams spent the first half struggling to create anything of note in an attacking sense, which did little to create a good spectacle.

Al-Taawoun looked more dangerous on the counter-attack, with the hosts indebted to a last-ditch tackle by Mohamad Simakan to snuff out a breakaway at the end of the first 45 minutes.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with a set-piece goal required to open the scoring as Al-Ahmed headed in from a corner.

Al-Nassr were given a lifeline to keep their hopes alive with time running out, but Ronaldo was unable to convert the penalty.

|| Full time,@AlNassrFC 0:1 #AlTaawoun

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) October 29, 2024

Data Debrief: Al-Nassr fall the wrong side of tight margins

The result means it is now back-to-back matches in which Al-Nassr have failed to win, which is their first such run since August.

The match itself was a tight one, with Al-Nassr having five shots on target compared to Al-Taawoun’s four.

In terms of actual chances, Al-Nassr had opportunities equalling 1.56 xG, although it is worth remembering 0.75 of that came from their penalty. Al-Taawoun, meanwhile, generated an xG of 0.59.