Ronaldo rested, Joao Felix does the job as Al-Nassr crushes Pakhtakor in AFC League
Saudi Pro League giant Al-Nassr FC Monday November 02, 2026 crushed Pakhtakor Uzbek football club in the AFC Champions League Elite, and the Man of the Match is Joao Felix, not Cristiano Ronaldo.
AFC Champions League Elite: Saudi Pro League giant Al-Nassr FC Monday November 02, 2026 crushed Pakhtakor Uzbek football club in the AFC Champions League Elite, and the Man of the Match is Joao Felix, not Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the absence of Al-Nassr Captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix shined with a brace in the Pakhtakor vs Al Nassr AFC Champions League Elite Group B match played at Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, even as Abdullah Al Hamdan, Abdulelah Al Amri, Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Angelo Gabriel too scored one goal each.
Pakhtakor vs Al Nassr Highlights
Al Nassr footballers were in the attacking mode ever since the kick-start. Abdullah Al Hamdan scored the first goal for Al Nassr in the 15th minute of the match.
Two minutes later, Joao Felix took the score to 2-0. The Portuguese Forward added another goal and completed brace in the 32nd minute.
Pakhtakor players fought back, with Flamarion sending the ball past the goalkeeper in the 36nd minute.
The First Half ended with the score yelling 3-1 in Al Nassr’s favour.
The Second Half again saw some thrilling and exciting football by Al Nassr players - Abdulelah Al Amri, Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Angelo Gabriel each striking in 53, 62 and 79th minute of the match.
In between, Dostonbek Khamdamov added another goal for Pakhtakor. But Al-Nassr had sealed the match with a resounding 6-2 victory in the match.
Why Ronaldo was absent today?
Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the Al-Nassr vs Pakhtakor AFC Champions League Elite match played today in Uzbekistan.
Is he injured?
No, Head coach Ange Postecoglou has explained why he left the Portuguese star out of the squad for the trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The decision is not related to a reported injury or suspension, he said.
Postecoglou further said that Ronaldo is being rested as Al Nassr are running a tight ship due to the travel associated with playing in domestic and continental competitions.
Also, Ronaldo is not the only veteran player who is not available for the Saudi club. Winger Kingsley Coman and defender Mohamed Simakan have also been rested, with Postecoglou preferring to keep three key players safe rather than send them to Uzbekistan for the fourth-round match.
“I decided to rest Ronaldo, Coman and Simakan, given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved,” Postecoglou said at his pre-match news conference Monday.
Resting Ronaldo is significant as the legendary footballer comes off a stellar display in the Saudi Pro League. The 41-year-old scored a hat-trick against Al Kholood last week, taking his career goal tally to 985. He is currently 15 goals short of 1,000 career goals.
AFC Champions League Elite has been divided into two groups of 16 teams each.
[ Zohair M Safwan Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com]
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