Cristiano Ronaldo taken off with Al Nassr trailing, reaction catches eye | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo was unhappy with Ange Postecoglou’s decision to take him off at half-time in the match between Al Ettifaq and Al Nassr. The player developed at Sporting started the game, but did not return for the second half of a match that the Riyadh side would eventually win 3-2.

“When I made the substitutions, including taking Cristiano Ronaldo off, I believed the players who came on could make an impact”, Postecoglou explained after the match. “I came here to help the players and, as I said, I’m proud of them, because all the substitutes made a positive contribution,” he added.

The Australian coach was keen, however, to praise what CR7 produced during the opening 45 minutes. “I’m here to help the team with what I see, and everyone knows Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t played for a long time. He delivered an exceptional performance in the first half and we chose a different approach,” he said.

Al Nassr were going through a difficult spell after Bento was sent off in the 12th minute, and went into the break 2-0 down. With Cristiano Ronaldo already off the pitch, the Saudi side managed to respond, with Sadio Mané and João Félix standing out in a comeback built during the second half.

The win took Al Nassr to nine points and gave them provisional top spot in the Saudi league. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, is once again at the centre of attention, this time because of his reaction to the substitution decided by Postecoglou.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.