Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Al Nassr's Champions League match against Pakhtakor in Tashkent, with the Daily Mirror citing security concerns in the region.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play when Al Nassr visit Pakhtakor in Tashkent, according to the Daily Mirror, which links the decision to security concerns in and around Saudi Arabia.
Al Nassr manager Ange Postecoglou gave a different reason. Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were left out "given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved." He did not mention security, and the Mirror does not say what specific threat prompted its framing.
The context is not calm. Ronaldo was rested last week when Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates declined to travel to Riyadh, which forced that Champions League game to be postponed. In October, Al Nassr's previous home match in the tournament was delayed by an hour after reports of missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The numbers are blunt. Al Nassr are ninth in the western zone, the lowest of the Saudi league's five representatives in the 32-team tournament. Only the top eight reach the knockouts. Ronaldo scored a hat trick in the Saudi Pro League last week and sits on 985 career goals for club and country.
My take: the reason is disputed, the table is not. Ninth place, and now a match without Ronaldo. Not exactly a comfort blanket.
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Meanwhile at the desk
Two stories, one unavailable Ronaldo. The Mirror says security, the manager says fixtures and travel, and neither says which one is the bluff.
A club sitting ninth and a manager citing travel demands. Someone decided this, and I would like to know who, and what they weighed against ninth place.
