Cristiano Ronaldo missed a crucial penalty in stoppage time, resulting in Al-Nassr’s elimination from the King’s Cup after a 1-0 loss to Al-Taawoun. The match, held in Riyadh, marked another setback for Ronaldo, who has yet to secure a major trophy since joining the club nearly two years ago.
Al-Taawoun took the lead with just 20 minutes left on the clock, thanks to a well-placed header by Waleed Al-Ahmad. The match took an intense turn in the 95th minute when Al-Ahmad was penalized for a foul in the box, offering Al-Nassr a chance to equalize. With a perfect record of 18 converted penalties for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo stepped up, but his shot went over the crossbar, stunning the home crowd of 14,519 fans.
This defeat also marks the first loss for head coach Stefano Pioli, who took over in September. Reflecting on the game, Pioli said, "Technically we performed well, but we couldn't win. We feel disappointed to be out of the cup. But we still have two trophies to go for and we will give our best in them."
Despite this King’s Cup exit, Al-Nassr still has opportunities to chase silverware this season. Currently, they are six points behind Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League after eight matches and have seven points from three games in the Asian Champions League group stage.
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