Al Nassr will host Al Rayyan at Al Awwal Park for Matchday 2 of the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite. To secure their first win in the competition, coach Stefano Pioli has made a decision regarding Cristiano Ronaldo‘s participation in the game.
On this occasion, the Portuguese will take no rest. After three days from his last game against Al Wahda for the Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo will start for Al Nassr today.
In this year’s debut in the AFC Champions League Elite, Al Nassr were able to get only one point after the 1-1 draw against Al Shorta. Standing in the 9th position, Ronaldo’s team is expecting a win to get into playoffs spots.
Today’s game will be Ronaldo’s 10th game in the AFC Champions League Elite. So far in the competition, he managed to net 6 goals and provide 2 assists in 9 games.
Ronaldo and Stefano Pioli want to keep momentum
After recovering from a viral infection, Ronaldo returned to the team and scored 2 goals in Al Nassr’s last three games. In Friday’s SPL match against Al Wahda, he scored from the penalty spot, setting a record of 166 goals out of 196 penalty kicks, with an 84.7% conversion rate.
The same goes for Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro after Al Nassr’s poor start. So far, the Italian has won all three games he’s coached and is looking to extend that run today in his AFC Champions League Elite debut against Al Rayyan.
Al Nassr confirmed lineup against Al Rayyan
Bento; Sultan, Mohamed Simakan, Aymeric Laporte, Salem Al Najdi; Abdullah Al Khaibari, Otavio, Sadio Mane, Anderson Talisca, Angelo; Cristiano Ronaldo.