Nightmare for Ronaldo! Laporte sees red in Al-Nassr defeat
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League dreams in jeopardy after Aymeric Laporte’s red card and Al-Ain’s first-leg win in the quarter-finals
Al-Nassr lost in the Asian Champions League as Al-Ain beat them 1-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his team went to the United Arab Emirates hoping to extend their unbeaten streak in the tournament, but they were outplayed by the Saudi Pro League side and Soufiane Rahimi’s brilliance. The Moroccan stayed composed as he broke through on David Ospina’s goal and went past the Colombian before scoring into the empty net even though he was off balance.
Al-Ain dominated the game in the second half except for one opportunity that Ronaldo had that was saved superbly by their keeper. Aymeric Laporte, the ex-Manchester City defender, was sent off in injury time after he hit Hazem Mohammad in the back with his elbow.
The MVP was not Ronaldo
THE MVP Rahimi was the standout player for the UAE Pro League side as he was involved in both goals that beat Ospina. The Moroccan set up Kaku in the 22nd minute of the game but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up. He soon gave Al-Ain the lead with a stunning run and finish past Laporte and Al-Nassr’s Colombian keeper. Rahimi nearly scored again in the second half after he put the ball past Ospina but he was ruled offside.
The big losers
Al-Nassr’s stars failed to impress as they showed none of their usual quality. Ronaldo and Sadio Mane were silenced by Hernan Crespo’s team and hardly displayed any skill. The Portuguese star, who has won the Ballon d’Or five times, missed two good chances to beat Khalid Eisa but wasted the first one and Eisa saved the second one easily.
In the final moments, Ronaldo had the best opportunity of the game but Eisa stopped him again with a brilliant save. Laporte was sent off in injury time and that killed any hope for the visitors as Al-Ain were getting tired.
The quarter-final between Al-Ain and Al-Nassr will continue in a week when the UAE team visit Al-Awwal Stadium for their match on Monday, March 11. The Saudi Pro League team will miss Laporte for the second leg because he is banned.
