World soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr) failed to score an offensive point in his debut in the Asian Champions League (ACL) finals. However, he helped the team win by drawing cumulative warnings from the opposing team.
Ronaldo played as a front-line striker in the first Group E match of the 2023-24 ACL group stage against Persepolis (Iran) at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on the 20th (Korea Standard Time), and played until one minute of extra time in the second half and fired two shots, but failed to raise his attack point. Ronaldo had one assist in the ACL playoff against Al-Ali Dubai (United Arab Emirates) on April 23. At that time, Al-Nasr advanced to the ACL finals by winning 4-2.
Al-Nasr scored a goal early in the second half after one opponent was sent off for accumulated warnings to win 2-0. Al-Nasr, who won three points, ranked first in Group E, beating FC Istiklol (Tajikistan), Al-Duhail (Qatar, 1 point) and Persepolis (0 point), who had a 0-0 draw on the day.
Ronaldo fired a sharp header in the 20th minute of the first half, but headed straight to the goalkeeper. At the end of the first half, he put his teammate's lobbing pass into the gate to help Ottavio's goal, but offside was declared. Ronaldo was pushed out of the box by the opponent's defense, and he was slightly below Sadio Mane's cross. My body looked a little dull.
The sluggish economy fluctuated in the seventh minute of the second half. Persepolis midfielder Milar Sarlak was sent off for accumulated warnings. Sarlak, who received a yellow card in the first half, defended Ronaldo I stepped on my foot and got sent off for adding a card.
Al-Nasr finally scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the second half. Marcelo Brozovic, who received Ronaldo's penetrating pass into the box, turned the cutback, and Abdulrahman Garib's shot alternately hit the opposing defender and led to a thumping own goal. Ten minutes later, Mohammed Qasem, who received a pass that Garib pushed in the box, stabbed between Near Post and the goalkeeper with a left-footed shot at a time when there was little angle to shoot, sealing the game.
The match drew great attention as Ronaldo played in Iran for the first time in seven years, with Saudi Arabia and Iran restoring diplomatic relations earlier this year. Ronaldo was widely welcomed when he entered Iran, but the match was held without spectators.