Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty prowess not enough to save Al Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 118th-minute penalty was not enough to stop Al Nassr being eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League.

Already trailing by a goal following last week’s opening-leg defeat at Al Ain, Ronaldo’s Saudi Pro League side were then 2-0 down on the evening, and staring at a bruising last-eight exit.

But the hosts pulled two goals back before Ronaldo, 39, somehow managed to miss a tap-in shortly after the hour mark.

|| Penalties, Thank you guys for your hard work pic.twitter.com/mfxXGFs1PH

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) March 11, 2024

However, the Portuguese’s blushes were spared when former Manchester United player Alex Telles scored in the 72nd minute to force extra-time.

Al-Nassr were reduced to 10 men, and then behind in the tie again when Sultan Al-Shamsi netted for Al Ain in the opening period of extra-time.

But Ronaldo made amends from his earlier miss to win, and convert from the penalty spot, with two minutes remaining to secure a 4-4 aggregate result.

Ronaldo was on target in the resulting shootout but Al Nassr failed to covert any of their other spot-kicks in a comprehensive 3-1 shootout defeat.