Cristiano Ronaldo‘s frustrating start to the 2024-25 season continued on Thursday night as Al-Nassr were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Raed.
Al-Nassr, who are coached by Luis Castro, came second in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) in 2023-24 and have high hopes of silverware this time around.
Things got off to a bad start last weekend when they were thrashed 4-1 by rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final, with Ronaldo opening the scoring, before the SPL champions scored four second half goals.
Al-Nassr began their league campaign on Thursday with a home game against Al-Raed, who finished 12th in the SPL and 45 points behind Ronaldo and Co last time out.
Alongside Ronaldo, Castro’s side lined up with their usual star-studded XI that included the likes of Sadio Mane, Alex Telles, Otavio, Marcelo Brozovic and Euro 2024 winner Aymeric Laporte.
Cristiano Ronaldo was left fuming after Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Al-Raed in the SPL on Thursday
Ronaldo had opened the scoring with a powerful first half header from Sadio Mane’s cross
But Al-Raed equalised from the penalty spot and held on for a famous point against Al-Nassr
Air Ronaldo still going strong 🛫
(via @SPL)pic.twitter.com/aNw9tc6jcF
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 22, 2024
They started well as Ronaldo put the hosts into the lead with a stunning header that saw the 39-year-old leap off the ground and power the ball home from Sadio Mane’s cross.
It was the Portuguese star’s third goal in three games this season after he also scored during Al-Nassr’s 2-0 win over Al-Taawon in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals.
Ronaldo marked his impressive finish and athleticism with his usual SIU celebration and the forward looked extremely pumped up after putting his side ahead.
However, despite dominating the game with 70 per cent possession and forcing 31 shots, Al-Nassr couldn’t find a second goal.
Disaster then struck when Mohammed Fouzair equalised for Al-Raed from the penalty spot early in the second half to leave Ronaldo fuming.
His anger was only enhanced when he had a goal ruled out for offside, with VAR adjudging Ronaldo to be ahead of the play by the tightest of margins.
Al-Nassr then had a penalty for handball denied deep into second half stoppage time, despite the referee reviewing the incident on the pitch-side monitor, with Al-Raed holding on for a memorable point.
Ronaldo’s frustration also comes after he stormed out of the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium last week without collecting his silver medal following Al-Nassr’s 4-1 defeat by Al-Hilal.
The 39-year-old had again expressed his anger throughout the game as he furiously gestured at many of his team-mates as the four second half goals went in.
Ronaldo then had a second goal ruled out for offside as his frustrations began to boil over
Al-Nassr also had a penalty shout turned away in stoppage time as they were held to a draw
It has been a disappointing start to the campaign for the 39-year-old Portuguese superstar
Despite the continued frustration, Ronaldo’s first half goal on Thursday meant he has now scored 60 goals in 66 appearances for Al-Nassr, while the 39-year-old also won the SPL Golden Boot last season when he scored 35 times.
A solid start to the campaign is particularly key for Ronaldo given he failed to find the net at Euro 2024 and badly struggled as Portugal crashed out at the quarter-final stage to France.
Al-Nassr and Ronaldo return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Al-Feiha in their second league game of the season.
