Ronaldo and Al Nassr set for UAE trip as they draw Al Ain in ACL
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to play in the UAE next month after the Al Nassr captain scored in the Asian Champions League to book a quarter-final clash with Al Ain.
The Portuguese star, competing this season for the first time in the continent’s premier club competition, struck the second goal in Nassr’s 2-0 home victory against fellow Saudi side Al Fayha on Wednesday.
Ronaldo’s countryman Otavio put Nassr ahead in the 17th minute, with the former Porto winger heading home from close range to score in his second successive game for the club.
Ronaldo looked set to endure a frustrating night personally, having had a number of penalty appeals turned down and a goal disallowed for offside.
The 39-year old was also booked in first-half stoppage time for a late challenge, with Nassr manager Luis Castro then given a yellow card for protesting the decision too vehemently.
However, Ronaldo would have the final say when he latched on to yet another Marcelo Brozovic through ball four minutes from time.
Fayha goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic really should have dealt with the situation but could only kick his attempted clearance off the onrushing Ronaldo. The ball fell invitingly for the former Real Madrid attacker to tap into the empty net.
The victory meant Nassr, semi-finalists in their past two Champions League appearances, advanced 3-0 on aggregate. Ronaldo scored the only goal in the first leg at Fayha last week.
The win sets up a last-eight tie with Al Ain, who booked their place in the quarter-finals, also on Wednesday, with a dramatic stoppage-time triumph at home to Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi. After the first leg ended goalless, Al Ain went 1-0 down at the beginning of the second half at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium before star striker Kodjo Laba levelled four minutes later with an acrobatic volley.
The 2003 champions, the only Emirati club to lift the Champions League, then snatched the win two minutes into injury time when playmaker Sofiane Rahimi dispatched expertly inside the Nasaf penalty area.
Al Ain will now host Nassr in the quarter-final first leg on March 4, before travelling to Riyadh for the return match one week later.