"Pioli doesn’t want Ronaldo to get to 1000 goals", "New Ten Hag" - Fans slam Al-Nassr boss as Cristiano Ronaldo gets subbed out against Al-Kholood
Fans on X have blasted Al-Nassr manager Stefano Pioli after he substituted Cristiano Ronaldo early in the second half during their 3-1 win over Al-Kholood. The two sides faced each other in the Saudi Pro League at Al-Awwal Park on Friday, March 14.
Al-Nassr got off to the perfect start, with Cristiano Ronaldo breaking the deadlock in the fourth minute and delivering a clinical finish. Sadio Mane found the bottom-left corner in the 26th minute to double their advantage before Jhon Duran netted an excellent goal from outside the box 15 minutes later to make it 3-0 before half-time.
However, disaster struck in the 56th minute after Nawaf Boushal received a second yellow card for a poor foul, reducing the hosts to 10 men. Despite looking sharp, Pioli opted to sub off Ronaldo in the 61st minute for Ayman Yahya. Ali Lajami then netted an own goal (72'), but Al-Nassr held onto their lead to secure all three points.
Fans were furious with Stefano Pioli for subbing off Cristiano Ronaldo. The 40-year-old looked displeased by the former AC Milan boss' decision and was also recorded storming down the tunnel (via @TheNassrZone on X):
One fan accused Pioli of not wanting Ronaldo to reach 1000 career goals:
"Pioli doesn’t want Ronaldo to get to 1000 goals"
Another fan tweeted:
"New Ten Hag"
Other fans reacted below:
"Get this baldy gone man the league is already over atleast let him score goals," one fan commented
"Sack Pioli asap," another added
"What did Stefano Pioli expect? You can take Cristiano off in a few games but not the way he is doing it. He is literally taking the piss which is why Cristiano reacted like that," one fan insisted
"One thing you don’t do is cause a problem with your best player because it usually doesn’t end well for the coach," one fan warned
"Ronaldo was so good today and wtf he takes him off. Yes take Angelo and bring in a RB acceptable but why sub off the best player on the pitch," another chimed in
How did Cristiano Ronaldo fare during Al-Nassr's 3-1 win over Al-Kholood?
Al-Nassr fans were left fuming after witnessing Cristiano Ronaldo being subbed off during their 3-1 win over Al-Kholood. Let's take a look at how the Portugal icon performed during his 61 minutes on the pitch.
Ronaldo received a match rating of 7.8, per FotMob, completing 15 passes from an attempted 18 with an accuracy of 83 percent. The 40-year-old created zero chances, landed two shots on target from an attempted three (67 percent accuracy), and completed three long balls from four attempts. He also scored his 28th goal for the Knights of Najd this season from 33 games across all competitions.
10-man Al-Nassr did well to hold on to their lead in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence. They are currently third in the Saudi Pro League table with 51 points from 25 games, 10 points behind Al-Ittihad.
