Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Al-Nassr Debut, Wins Game But Fails To Score A Goal

Football star Cristiano Ronaldo made his competitive debut for his new club Al-Nassr by defeating Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League on Sunday. But the Al-Nassr captain went away from his debut in Riyadh with a bittersweet feeling.

Even though Al-Nassr, which is the new leader of the Saudi League, won 1-0, Ronaldo could not celebrate with a goal. It was something that he and his family would have liked him to have done. It was a great atmosphere on field, but only a half-happy ending, reported MARCA. From a competitive point of view, the match had only one interest. It was to see if Ronaldo would score, something that the spectators and the star's own teammates were waiting for.

Ronaldo took the field with the captain's armband, something that was not known until the beginning of the game. This dependence changed the game, as they did not try to play football and win. As it was his first game, the obsession of the local players was that the Portuguese star would score. Infact, Al-Nassr found its attacking play somewhat limited on Sunday. Ronaldo's presence forced a different style of play. One of the detrimental aspects to the performance from Ronaldo's club was that the young and local players had never before come face-to-face with such a big star.

Still, the atmosphere on Sunday was beautiful. He was greeted by cheers and banners from his fans at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, reported BBC.

In the build-up to Anderson Talisca's opening goal, Ronaldo went very close with a header. But it was his teammate who finally scored a goal. Ronaldo did not score a goal, but he did try a spectacular bicycle kick in the 74th minute of the match, reported MARCA. It was his best moment from a footballing perspective.

Al-Nassr had a little trouble, but was finally able to win. Ronaldo's club moved to the top of the table, with two points clear of its rivals Al-Hilal.

It comes after Ronaldo, who has played for Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid, scored two times in Riyadh All-Star XI's defeat by Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a friendly match on Thursday.