"So sick of him", "Castro was much better" - Fans slam Al-Nassr boss Stefano Pioli as Cristiano Ronaldo's side held to draw in SPL clash

Al-Nassr fans on social media have called out manager Stefano Pioli following their 2-2 league draw against Al-Shabab on Friday (March 7). Pioli's side has won just one out of their last five games across all competitions. This has led to calls for his dismissal, and others have compared him with the Knights of Najd's previous manager, Luis Castro.

During the game, the visitors took the lead through Abderrazak Hamdallah, who converted a spot-kick in the 44th minute. Al-Nassr’s Ayman Yahya made it 1-1 by placing his shot into the net in the first half's stoppage time (45+2’).

Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Knights of Najd the lead five minutes later (45+7), having rifled his attempt into the back of the net. In the 52nd minute, Nassr's Mohammed Al-Fatil was given his marching orders for a rough tackle on Daniel Podence, which arguably denied the visitors a goal-scoring opportunity.

Al-Fatil’s red card made the Knights of Najd vulnerable as Al-Shabab kept mounting pressure on Nassr's defense. Eventually, the visitors got their equalizer through Mohammed Al-Shwirekh, who was set up by Cristian Guanca in the 67th minute.

In the aftermath of the draw, fans rushed to X to criticize Pioli for the team's performance, with one posting:

"Saudi players bury all Al Nassr's hopes of trophies. But the SPL fans will tell us it's all Ronaldo's fault. I'm so sick of Pioli, Saudi players and local fans! Fuc* them all!(Ronaldo is not on the pitch, who's stopping Duran from scoring?)."

"Pioli NEEDS to be sacked,” another added.

"Pioli is the worst coach i have ever seen,” a fan opined.

"Stefano Pioli needs to be sacked,” another chimed in.

"Pioli screwed the game up, why did he sub ronaldo?,” a fan asked.

"Yes get out pioli youre a coach of shee*,” another vented.

"Sack the dump as stefano pioli,Who doesnt know how to use the players properly. Substituting ronaldo instead to substitute mane. This time also we wont win the title. Luis Castro was much better than him. Mitrovic is back. Got good opportunities to take the lead against al hilal.," wrote another.

How did Al-Nassr’s Sadio Mane perform against Al-Shabab?

Al Nassr v Al-Ahli Saudi FC: Saudi Pro League - Source: Getty

Sadio Mane struggled to be a threat in the attack during the game. This could be why a cross-section of the fans felt that he should have been substituted instead of Ronaldo.

In his stint on the pitch, Mane maintained a passing accuracy of 75% (18/24). He provided three key passes and created one big chance but failed to register a shot in attack (via Sofascore).

Despite Mane's recent struggles, he remains a key player for Al-Nassr in the final third. The Knights of Najd are fourth in the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League, having accumulated 48 points from 24 games. Al-Nassr are 10 points behind Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad in the title race.