Ronaldo absent as Al-Nassr crush Pakhtakor 6-2

Abimbola Joseph

Al-Nassr secured an emphatic 6-2 victory over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, despite resting captain Cristiano Ronaldo amid concerns over security and a demanding fixture schedule.

The 41-year-old Portuguese forward was among three key players left out of the squad by coach Ange Postecoglou for the trip to Tashkent. Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were also rested.

According to The Independent, Postecoglou explained that the decision was influenced by the pressure of matches and the extensive travelling required.

The fixture came amid heightened security concerns in the region following reported missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia.

Al-Nassr’s previous home fixture in the competition, scheduled for October 12, was delayed by an hour following reports of the attacks, according to the Associated Press.

The club’s subsequent match against UAE side Al-Wasl was also postponed after the visitors declined to travel to Riyadh over security concerns.

Despite Ronaldo’s absence, Al-Nassr dominated Monday’s encounter at Pakhtakor Central Stadium, with João Félix scoring twice in the 6-2 victory.

Abdullah Al-Hamdan opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Félix doubled the advantage two minutes later. The former Chelsea forward struck again in the 32nd minute to give the visitors a commanding 3-0 lead.

Pakhtakor reduced the deficit through Flamarion in the 36th minute, but Al-Nassr strengthened their advantage after the interval with goals from Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Dostonbek Khamdamov scored Pakhtakor’s second goal before Ângelo completed the scoring for Al-Nassr in the 79th minute.

The Saudi Press Agency reported that the victory was Al-Nassr’s second in the competition, taking their points tally to six and moving them into fourth place in the West Region standings. Pakhtakor remained on two points.

Ronaldo had scored a hat-trick in Al-Nassr’s 5-3 league victory over Al-Kholood last Thursday, taking his career tally to 985 goals and his season’s total to nine goals in 12 appearances.