Fans Lash Out at Cristiano Ronaldo for Missing an Open-Net Opportunity against Al-Batin

Cristiano Ronaldo failed to mark his presence on the scoresheet in Friday’s Saudi Pro League game against Al-Batin, which saw Al-Nassr making a roaring three-goal comeback after falling short by one early in the first half. While his club returned to the top of the league table following the victory, Ronaldo has picked up controversies for coming out goalless against the bottom-placed team. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner invaded the Al-Batin defence multiple times but ended up being denied in the end. His closest opportunity arrived in the first half when Ronaldo’s open-net finish was cleared off by an opponent defender right before crossing the goal line.

Al-Batin forward Renzo Lopez broke the deadlock in the 17th minute. After conceding the early goal, Al-Nassr increased their pace in the attack. In the 34th minute, Ronaldo received an aerial through ball in the mid-field. After spotting a blank space in the opposition backline, the Al Nassr captain attempted to finish it single-handedly.

Ronaldo tricked past goalkeeper Martin Campana, who thought the striker would go for a lofted delivery, before charging the ball into the net. However, all of his efforts resulted in much disappointment as Al-Batin left-back Abdullah Al-Yousef pulled off a stunning goal-line clearance.

A clip of the occurrence has widely been shared across the internet with fans slamming Ronaldo for his failed attempt. A user sarcastically tweeted, “The GOAT doesn’t score easy goals so he missed on purpose. What a player.”

Another user wrote on Twitter, “How can I explain to someone that Ronaldo missed this opportunity, and how funny is Saud Arabia league to add 12 minutes and even a player scores in 15th.”

A fan could not believe his eyes as he went on to wonder, “How could Ronaldo miss a chance like this?”

A football enthusiast pointed at Ronaldo’s stats in the Al-Batin game and said, “Ronaldo missed the target 6 or 7 times today against the team that is last in a league that is ranked at 50th on the list of top leagues.”

Cristiano Ronaldo headed to the Al-Batin game on the back of some memorable outings. But he could not replicate his earlier form and looked quite pale on the occasion. After the aforementioned incident, the Portuguese international attempted to convert two freekicks in the second half, only to miss them by a whisker. Although, Al-Nassr managed to turn the table around riding on the injury-time goals from Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohammed Al-Fatil, and Mohammed Maran.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 8 goals in total so far in the Saudi Pro League including two hat-tricks in his last four games. He has also got two assists under his belt during his seven appearances for Al-Nassr. In his upcoming assignment, Ronaldo will take the field on March 9 in an away fixture against Al-Ittihad.

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