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Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr fell to a shock 3-1 defeat at home to Al-Raed in their Saudi Pro League encounter on Thursday, March 7. The Knights of Najd fell further behind in their pursuit of the league title and league-leaders Al-Hilal can go 12 points clear if they win their game in hand.
Al-Nassr dropped points for the first time in the second stanza of the season against Al-Hazm when captain Ronaldo was suspended. They played out a 4-4 draw against the bottom side, falling nine points behind Al-Hilal in the league standings.
The Saudi giants failed to win against Al-Ain in their midweek AFC Champions League meeting, falling to a 1-0 defeat in the UAE. They sought to bounce back against Al-Raed, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line alongside Sadio Mane after his one-game suspension.
Al-Nassr fans were unhappy with the performance of their team as their winless run stretched to three games. They took to X to share their thoughts on the team's performance in the game. Fans wrote:
"Worst defense Ronaldo's ever played with. So embarrassing."
"What is penaldo doing, can't he score more goals."
See more reactions from X below:
Al-Nassr are nine points behind rivals and league leaders Al-Hilal after 23 rounds of matches, despite having played a match more. Al-Hilal have the opportunity to pull clear of their rivals when they face Al-Riyadh on Friday, March 8.
Cristiano Ronaldo fails to inspire as Al-Nassr suffer shock defeat
With Cristiano Ronaldo absent against Al-Hazm, Anderson Talisca stepped up with a hat-trick for Al-Nassr. However, the Brazilian forward wasn't involved against Al-Raed after picking up a thigh injury which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Al-Raed took a shock lead after 18 minutes when Karim El-Berkaoui opened the scoring. Ayman Yahya brought the home side back on level terms within six minutes with his first goal of the season.
Mohamed Fouzair restored the visitors' lead seconds into the second half, before Amir Sayoud sealed the win in the 87th minute. Al-Raed managed to defeat Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr team by the same scoreline they lost by in the reverse fixture.
The Knights of Najd have a chance to bounce back when they host Al-Ain in a must-win AFC Champions League encounter on Monday, March 11.
