Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia has partially laid the blame for his side's Saudi Super Cup semi-final defeat on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Garcia's league leaders were dumped out of the competition by close rivals Al-Ittihad on Thursday, with new signing and captain Ronaldo blanking once again following his goalless debut appearance last Sunday. The 37-year-old megastar was similarly quiet on his second outing and missed a chance to score in the first half which Garcia suggested would've swung the tie in Al-Nassr's favour.
"One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano's missed opportunity in the first half," the French boss told reporters following the 3-1 loss, with Al-Ittihad having taken the lead after only 15 minutes at the King Fahd International Stadium.
The result leaves Ronaldo and co with one less opportunity for silverware this season, although they do have another tournament to complete in come March. Al-Nassr will face mid-table side Abha in the King's Cup and are hoping to fare better than on Thursday.
"I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They presented a much better first half than us, and we played a good second half, but unfortunately we were not able to adjust the result," Garcia, whose side pulled a goal back in the second half through top scorer Anderson Talisca, went on to admit. "It's true that we regret losing the Super Cup, but we are still the first in the league."
What's more concerning for the former Roma and Marseille manager is that Ronaldo limped off with an injury at full-time after being on the end of strong tackle from Al-Ittihad substitute Hamdan Al-Shamrani late in the game. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner appeared to roll his right ankle in the forceful challenge and hobbled off after the final whistle.
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Yet to score for Al-Nassr since putting pen to paper on a lucrative two-and-a-half-year deal with the Saudi Arabian club, worth £173million per year, Ronaldo's controversial move from Manchester United to the Middle East isn't going as planned so far. That said, even one of the Portuguese veteran's rivals is backing him to start banging in the goals in the Saudi Pro League.
"Ronaldo is a legend. He is the best, for me, is the GOAT," ex-United striker Odion Ighalo, who now plays for title chasers Al-Hilal, told Oma Sports TV "I have too much respect for him, admiration for him." Ighalo, who partnered Ronaldo during an All-Star friendly match against Paris Saint-Germain last Thursday, then went on to express his desire to share the stage with his idol.
"He is going to play for his own team and he will score goals and me, I am going to play for my own team and I will score goals," the Nigerian, 33, continued. "So we will see how it goes. I wish him all the best in Al-Nassr, then I will do my job for Al-Hilal and we will see at the end of the season."
