Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his regrets to Al Nassr fans after converting a penalty in the 118th minute during their match against UAE Pro League team Al Ain.
The team coached by Luis Castro was knocked out of this year’s Asian Champions League following a penalty shootout loss.
Despite a 4-3 victory that evening, overturning a 1-0 loss from the first leg, Al Nassr was seen as likely to advance to the semi-finals.
However, Marcelo Brozovic, Otavio, and Alex Telles all missed their shots from 12 yards, allowing Al Ain to seize the opportunity.
Remarkably, Cristiano Ronaldo was the sole Al Nassr player to successfully score his penalty, as the team from the Saudi Pro League was eliminated after a closely contested defeat.
For Al Nassr and Ronaldo, it was a disappointing evening, marked by Ronaldo missing an exceptionally clear chance in the second half of Monday’s match.
The 39-year-old, who has been key in their AFC Champions League run with five goals, failed to score from just three yards out.
Nevertheless, he managed to push the game into penalties with just two minutes left of regular play.
Shortly thereafter, he seemed to gesture an apology to the multitude of Al Nassr supporters at Al-Awwal Stadium for his miss earlier in the half.
A Twitter user, who was present at Monday night’s game, shared a video of the moment with the caption: “The legend Ronaldo apologizes to the fans after the goal due to the missed opportunities.”
Al Nassr, along with Ronaldo, aims to narrow the 12-point lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League this Friday against Al Ahli.
