Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr have been branded “a great team”, with Al Ain wary of the threat they pose despite claiming an AFC Champions League lead.
Ronaldo and Co were in the UAE on Monday for the first leg of a continental quarter-final clash. Al-Nassr fluffed their lines in that contest, as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat and had former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte sent off in stoppage-time.
Al Ain also had two goals disallowed for offside, as they restricted the likes of Ronaldo and Sadio Mane to limited opportunities in the final third. That left CR7 cutting a frustrated figure at the final whistle, as he fired a “see you in Riyadh” message to those taunting him from the stands.
The heavyweight tie is still very much in the balance, though, with Al Ain boss Hernan Crespo admitting as much. The former Chelsea and Inter striker told reporters: “It was a very tough match and an incredible performance. The players showed a great night against a good opponent with a lot of stars. And we deserved to win. We played very well, played really good football. But it’s not finished. It’s only the first half and then we need to finish this history there. It will not be easy.”
DID YOU KNOW?
The Argentine added: “Really, the result is good because every time you win is important, and more in these kinds of matches. But I don’t know if this is enough [yet], because we need to go there and live another battle. We know very well they have great players to make the difference, and we need to pay attention. At the same time our strength is the group. We showed how important it is to be ready, to play together in this kind of situation. The crucial point is to understand the way you want to play, to defend our identity with great effort to help the talent. Tonight was a perfect situation against a great team, against great players. But it’s not finished. We are very happy, but it’s not finished.”
WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO & AL-NASSR?
Al-Nassr will play host to Al Ain in a must-win return leg on March 11, with the likes of Ronaldo – who has 34 goals to his name this season – and ex-Liverpool forward Mane needing to step up in that contest in order to keep dreams of landing major silverware alive.
