Ronaldo left out of Al Nassr's Champions League match over security

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 2 Nov, 22:56 · Archive

Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in Al Nassr's squad for their AFC Champions League match against Pakhtakor in Uzbekistan on Monday. Coach Ange Postecoglou also rested Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan from the trip to Tashkent. Postecoglou told a news conference he had made the decision 'given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved'.

The match came amid ongoing security concerns in the region. Al Nassr's previous home fixture in the competition, scheduled against Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates, had been postponed a week earlier when the UAE club refused to travel. Airports in Saudi Arabia have come under a series of attacks undertaken by Houthi rebels backed by Tehran, with the militants seeking to disrupt the country's oil exports.

Ronaldo's omission from the squad followed his appearance for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where he scored a hat-trick against Al Kholood on Thursday. That performance took him to nine goals in twelve appearances this season and 985 career goals overall. He is pursuing a target of 1,000 career goals.

Al Nassr went on to win the match 6-2 in Uzbekistan. Joao Felix, a fellow Portugal international, scored twice in the victory. The side currently sits ninth in the western zone group of the 32-team tournament and would need to finish in the top eight to advance to the knockouts.

How it is being reported

• Cristiano Ronaldo is left out of Al-Nassr match due to 'security concerns' as countryman Joao Felix stars in his absenceThe 41-year-old Portugal star was among a number of players left out by coach Ange Postecoglou for the trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.Daily Mail Sport · 2 Nov, 16:40
• Cristiano Ronaldo misses Al-Nassr match in Uzbekistan amid security concernsCristiano Ronaldo was not involved in Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League match on MondayIndependent Sport · 2 Nov, 16:30
• Cristiano Ronaldo removed from Al Nassr squad amid security concernsCristiano Ronaldo will now be part of Al Nassr's squad for their upcoming game as situation in Saudi Arabia and its neighbours continues to come with security risksMirror Sport · 2 Nov, 13:46

In this story: Cristiano Ronaldo · Al Nassr · Ange Postecoglou · Pakhtakor · Uzbekistan · Saudi Arabia · Houthi rebels · Joao Felix

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log