14 March 2023 , 16:36
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Cristiano Ronaldo could not contain his fury as he was denied a chance to end his Al-Nassr goal drought during Tuesday afternoon's cup clash against Abha.
The superstar striker, 38, has failed to find the back of the net in his last two Saudi Pro League fixtures and was frustrated again during the King Cup quarter-final tie. Sami Al-Najei and Abdullah Al-Khaibari gave Al-Nassr an early two-goal lead but Ronaldo was clearly livid when the referee blew the half-time whistle as he attempted to burst out of his own half on the counter-attack.
There had been two minutes of added time earmarked and the referee drew the first half to a close with 47:24 on the clock, so the Manchester United legend could have few complaints about his surging run being cut short.
However, he responded to the whistle by gesticulating angrily at the referee before picking up and booting the ball powerfully into the opposition half. Ronaldo's act of petulance was punished with a yellow card, which only incensed him further as he trudged off the pitch towards the tunnel.
It is not the first time the former Real Madrid and Juventus forward has let his frustrations show in recent days. Al-Nassr were defeated 1-0 by title rivals Al-Ittihad last week - a result which allowed the latter to go top of the league - and Ronaldo responded by ripping off his captain's armband and storming off the pitch at full-time.
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He also lashed out at some water bottles near the touchline and made straight for the tunnel. Ronaldo's recent behaviour marks a drastic change from his jubilant attitude throughout February.
Ronaldo scored eight goals in his four Saudi Pro League appearances last month, including an astonishing four in one game against Al-Wehda. However, things have not gone to plan since then and Ronaldo's goal drought extended to three games as he failed to make his mark against Abha.
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Cristiano Ronaldo's counter-attacking run was cut short by the half-time whistle (Twitter/@SkyFootball)
The superstar striker responded by picking up the ball and booting it high into the air (Twitter/@SkyFootball)Mohammed Maran extended Al-Nassr's lead shortly after half-time and Abdulfattah Adam grabbed a consolation goal for the visitors at King Saud University Stadium. Despite his yellow card, Ronaldo was left on by manager Rudi Garcia until the dying minutes of the fixture.
Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr at the turn of the year after departing Old Trafford under a cloud. The Sporting Lisbon academy graduate agreed to terminate his contract with United after giving an explosive interview with Piers Morgan during which he hit out at the club, his teammates and manager Erik ten Hag.