Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the stands as already qualified Al-Nassr lost for the first time in this year’s AFC Champions League, losing 2-1 in stoppage time to Qatar’s Al-Sadd on Monday.
The 39-year-old Portuguese star has reportedly been rested for the match in Riyadh given the Saudi club secured their place in the knockout stages last week, with three group stage rounds remaining.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored twice against Al Gharafa, another Qatari team, last time out, then scored twice again in the Saudi Professional League on Friday.
However, Al Nassr captain was excluded from Stefano Pioli’s squad for the Al Sadd match.
Ronaldo, who scored 15 goals in 18 matches with his club this season, was seen in the first garden, sitting next to his mother, Dolores Aveiro, and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez.
Al Sadd took the lead eight minutes into the second half through Akram Afif, when the best player in Asia ran from the halfway line to a long ball.
Afif overtook defender Mohamed Al-Fateel and scored a low goal past Brazilian goalkeeper Pinto.
Al-Nasr equalized in the 80th minute after a cross pass from the young Brazilian Wesley, which Al-Sadd defender Romain Saiss turned into his own goal.
However, there would be a heavy blow for Al-Nassr, when Afif stumbled inside the home team’s penalty area and substitute Adam Wannas scored from the penalty spot in the 99th minute.
With this defeat, Al-Nasr remained in third place in the group stage in the Western Region, while Al-Sadd advanced to fourth place, also securing its place in the round of 16.
The top eight teams qualify for the knockout stages.
Their Saudi compatriots, Al-Ahly, remain in the lead – even if they abandoned their perfect 100% record in this year’s tournament – thanks to Ivan Toney’s brace that secured a 2-2 draw with Iran’s Esteghlal in Jeddah.
This was the second consecutive Champions League match in which Toni scored twice after last week’s brace against Asian champions Al Ain.