Manager Rudi Garcia has blamed Cristiano Ronaldo for Al-Saudi Nassr’s Super Cup semi-final exit.
All eyes were on Ronaldo following his new team Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Ittihad at the King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday January 26, 2023.
The Portuguese legend failed to score on his second appearance for Al-Aalami, who were thrashed 3-1 by Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals.
Al-Ittihad capitalised on the break and doubled their lead before the break, with Abderrazak Hamdallah scoring.
Anderson Talisca did pull one back in the 67th minute to spark hopes of a comeback, but Muhannad Shanqeeti’s strike deep into injury time sealed the Tigers’ fate.
However, Al Nassr manager Rudi Garcia blaming Ronaldo after the game, claimed that the forward’s miss caused the team a “huge blow” to progress to final stage of the competition.
According to him, he thinks Cristiano Ronaldo’s miss in the first half was the turning point in the defeat to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup.
“One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed opportunity in the first half,” the French manager told reporters after the match— [quoted by Goal.com]
