Cristiano Ronaldo endured a frustrating evening as Al-Nassr surrendered a two-goal lead before being hauled off at half-time that leave the skipper angry.
According to Sportskeeda, fans on X have slammed Ronaldo for his reaction to Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi's errors in goal during their 3-2 comeback win over Al-Ettifaq.
The two sides locked horns in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday, August 25.
With Cristiano Ronaldo named in the starting XI for the first time this season, Al-Nassr started the game confidently on the front foot against Al-Ettifaq.
However, the former were reduced to 10 men in the 13th minute after goalkeeper Bento Krepski was sent off for a poor challenge outside the box.
As a result, Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi came on as his replacement, making his Al-Nassr debut at 18.
Unfortunately for the Knights of Najd, the rookie made two massive errors, leading to goals after he failed to prevent Ondrej Duda (31') and Alvaro Medran (45 + 3) from scoring from distance.
Following Al-Otaibi's second error, Cristiano Ronaldo was recorded expressing his frustration. The 41-year-old raised his arms in anger before Swalking off.
Additionally, he beckoned for the Saudi Arabian star to punch the ball clear instead of trying to catch it.
Fans reaction
However, fans didn't take kindly to Ronaldo's initial reaction and criticized the five-time Ballon d’Or award winner.
A user posted, "Always blaming others. Messi would never."
“Ronaldo telling the GK to punch the ball. Like I said, that boy isn’t a Pro yet. His last competitive game was with Saudi under 17. Al Nassr will sign a GK in the coming days for sure. I hope that boy bounces back because his career might be over," another added.
One wrote on X, “Ronaldo telling the GK to punch the ball. Like I said, that boy isn’t a Pro yet. His last competitive game was with Saudi under 17. Al Nassr will sign a GK in the coming days for sure. I hope that boy bounces back because his career might be over.”
Other fans called Ronaldo “a disgrace” and “kid.”
The Portuguese star was not around to join his teammates for the post-match celebrations, adding another layer of intrigue to an eventful evening.
The victory made it three wins from three league matches for Al Nassr to start the season, but the main talking point was undoubtedly Ronaldo’s reaction to being substituted.
