For the 1/3 time this season, Al Nassr was overwhelmed by Al Hilal. Hence, there is a big opportunity that the Knights of Najd go trophyless this campaign. Coach Luis Castro’s position is expected to be under scrutiny following the disappointing loss. As a result, the Portuguese tactician was expected to come out blazing on his players. Yet, Castro has reportedly given Cristiano Ronaldo & Co a holiday after their subpar showing.
As per reports on X, Castro has given his players a 3-day break from training. Considering that Al Nassr’s next game is on April 19, the move makes sense. Obviously, the goal might be to get Cristiano Ronaldo & squad fresh for the final stretch of the campaign. CR7 was on the bench in the previous game against Damac, as the intention was to rest the 39-year-old. However, his performance today did not bear such benefits.Ronaldo didn't let his intrusive thoughts winpic.twitter.com/72QnTVtlkA
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) April 9, 2024
For starters, Cristiano Ronaldo completed just 15 passes in 86 minutes. He could not create a single chance and was upset for missing a big chance himself as well. What’s worst of all was Ronaldo had a key part in Otavio’s goal being ruled out. In the build-up to the goal, CR7 was offside, resulting in the goal being disallowed.
Besides an uncharacteristic performance, Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in a problem as well. In the last stages of the game, the Portuguese star received a red card. Ronaldo did not look pleased with the decision and tried to punch the referee! CR7’s attitude surprised many, but Coach Castro feels his player did not deserve a sending-off in the first place.
Cristiano Ronaldo was 'provoked' according to Luis Castro in the red-card incident
In the post-match interview, Al Nassr boss Luis Castro came to the defense of his captain. He said, “It is hard to talk about the incident in which Ronaldo received the red card, and we saw several clips earlier in the season where Ronaldo was provoked, and after seeing some of the images Ronaldo did not do anything that deserved to be sent off, and the opposing player acted.” It should be noted that Castro has a point regarding the provocation.
