Al-Nassr beats Pakhtakor 6-2 without Ronaldo

Al-Nassr defeated Pakhtakor 6-2 in Tashkent on November 2, while Cristiano Ronaldo and two other key players were left out of the squad. João Félix scored twice in the AFC Champions League Elite match, which Al-Nassr played without its leading forward amid regional security concerns and a demanding schedule. Coach Ange Postecoglou said Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were omitted because of the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved. Some reports linked Ronaldo’s absence to security concerns, but Postecoglou’s stated explanation was workload and travel. Al-Nassr took control early. Abdullah Al-Hamdan opened the scoring in the 15th minute, and Félix added goals in the 17th and 32nd minutes to put the visitors ahead 3-0. Pakhtakor’s Flamarion scored before halftime. After the break, Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdulrahman Ghareeb extended Al-Nassr’s lead. Dostonbek Khamdamov scored for the hosts before Ângelo completed the scoring in the 79th minute. The win moved Al-Nassr to fourth in the West Region standings with six points, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Pakhtakor remained on two points. It was Al-Nassr’s second win in the competition, following a...