Ronaldo rallies Al Nassr before Neom win despite missed penalty

Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo urged his team-mates to maintain their winning run before the Saudi Pro League side secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Neom.

The match took place at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on Tuesday, with Joao Felix scoring the only goal in the 10th round of the Roshn Saudi League.

Al Nassr published a video on its official X account showing events before, during and after the match. The footage included motivational messages from Ronaldo and head coach Ange Postecoglou as the club recorded a difficult victory.

“Let’s keep going, boys. Let’s keep the wins coming, win after win after win,” Ronaldo said before kick-off. “We are playing well and going through an excellent period. We are fully prepared, so let’s continue in this way.”

The Portugal forward, however, endured a disappointing evening by his own standards. He missed a penalty in first-half stoppage time and was unable to make a decisive contribution in front of goal.

Ronaldo remained on the pitch until the final whistle and was not substituted, despite his subdued performance.

His display drew widespread criticism after the game. Fahad Al-Harifi, an Al Nassr legend, even called on the superstar to stop playing football because of his declining performances.

Ronaldo has played 10 matches for Al Nassr since the start of the current season, scoring five goals. That gives him an average of one goal every two games.

The club’s behind-the-scenes video looked back at the win and highlighted the attempts by Postecoglou and Ronaldo to keep the squad focused before the team held on for all three points against Neom.