"He’s the worst player we have", "Less agile than a 40 year old Ronaldo" - Al-Nassr fans slam Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate despite 3-2 win over Damac
Al-Nassr fans on X have blasted Jhon Duran after he struggled to make an impact during their 3-2 win over Damac in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence. The two sides locked horns in their Saudi Pro League clash at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium on Tuesday, April 22.
Stefano Pioli opted to rest Cristiano Ronaldo against Damac due to their busy schedule, excluding the Portugal ace from the matchday squad. The hosts struck first, taking the lead in the 18th minute via Ramzi Solan's close-range finish. Fortunately for Al-Nassr, Aymeric Laporte leveled the scores seven minutes later to make it 1-1 going into half-time.
Ali Al-Hassan continued his fine run of form, handing the Knights of Najd the lead in the 70th minute with an unstoppable finish into the top-right corner. However, Damac made it 2-2 three minutes later following Nicolae Stanciu's brilliant strike. Just when it seemed as if Cristiano Ronaldo's side would drop points, Sultan Al-Ghannam netted in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal all three points.
Despite playing all 90 minutes up front, Jhon Duran performed poorly, registering zero goal contributions, landing no shots on target from one attempt, and losing six duels, via FotMob. The 21-year-old has struggled for form in the Saudi Pro League recently, scoring just one goal in his last eight appearances.
One Al-Nassr fan slammed Duran, comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo:
"Somehow he's less agile than a 40 year old Ronaldo and managed to do better in the PL than in the SPL"
Another fan tweeted:
"He’s the worst player we have, even Al Fatil is better"
Other fans reacted below:
"Another disaster Class from DURAN bruh… And who tf is Marran?? Man could not even link up play. This was not convincing even tho we were robbed a Pen," one fan commented
"They kicked talisca to buy another talisca," another added
"Duran is actually such a bum. He has now only scored in 4 matches out of the 12 that he’s played. Genuinely like playing with 10 men when he’s on the pitch," one fan insisted
"Jhon Duran became a fraud so quickly," one fan tweeted
"Damn these teams needa an entire squad build. And did Duran forget how to play football? C'mon man you can't be playing like that when we signed you for so much money," another chimed in
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Al-Nassr this season?
Despite being without Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr showed great resilience to secure a last-gasp 3-2 win over Damac. They remain third in the SPL table with 60 points from 29 games, eight points behind leaders Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo has arguably been the Knights of Najd's best player this season, scoring 32 goals and providing four assists in 36 appearances across all competitions. The 40-year-old has also netted 23 goals in the league in 27 appearances and is leading the race to win the Golden Boot, with three goals more than second-placed Abderrazak Hamdallah.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be aiming to return to Al-Nassr's starting XI in their next fixture against Yokohama F. Marinos. They are set to face each other in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Saturday, April 26.
