Al Nassr was knocked out of the King Cup of Champions, losing the semi-final game 1-0 at the hands of Al-Wehda.
Cristiano Ronaldo, evidently disappointed with the team’s performance, was captured venting out his frustration on his club’s coaching staff right after the first-half whistle, when Al Nassr had already gone down by one goal. Both sides were leaving the pitch when a visibly annoyed Ronaldo charged towards the bench and directly got involved in a furious battle of words with his own coaching group.
Al Nassr were the favorites going into the contest, with lowly Al Wehda currently sitting in 13th place in the Saudi Pro League. Without a win in their past five league games and having had a player sent off for a red card, Al Wehda faced an uphill struggle.
French striker Jean-David Beauguel scored the game’s only goal with a spectacular overhead kick in the 23rd minute. Wave after wave of Al Nassr attacks saw the much-fancied Riyadh side dominate possession, but Al Wehda clung to the narrow victory.
Late drama saw two VAR appeals for a penalty turned down as Ronaldo’s team were ejected from the tournament. Last time the two sides met Ronaldo scored all four goals in a 4-0 victory, but could not break through this time. Al Wehda will play Al Hilal in the final.
After the game, Ronaldo was spotted on his knees – clearly distraught that his side had suffered defeat. Since joining the side, Al-Nassr have lost in the Riyadh Super Cup, the Saudi Super Cup and have fallen to second place in the league.
The Portuguese football icon’s last chance of silverware this year rests on the league.
Al Nassr currently sits in second place in the league, three points behind leaders Al Ittihad, who also have a game in hand. Ronaldo’s next match comes on Friday, April 28 when Al Nassr faces 11th place Al Raed.
