Pakhtakor vs Al Nassr: Why Cristiano Ronaldo Will Miss AFC Champions League Clash
- Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of Al Nassr's squad for their AFC Champions League trip to Tashkent to face Pakhtakor
- Head coach Ange Postecoglou cited workload management and extensive travel demands as the reason behind the decision
- Ronaldo enters the break in strong form after a hat-trick last week, moving his career goal tally to 985
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Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in Al Nassr's AFC Champions League fixture against Pakhtakor in Tashkent on Monday, November 2, with head coach Ange Postecoglou choosing to rest the Portuguese forward due to the physical demands of a congested schedule and the burden of long-distance travel.
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Why Ronaldo will miss Pakhtakor vs Al Nassr
Ronaldo is one of three players omitted from the travelling squad, with Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan also absent.
According to ESPN, Postecoglou confirmed the decision was driven by the cumulative strain of back-to-back matches and the significant distances involved in this stage of the competition.
The 40-year-old heads into the rest period having delivered one of his most eye-catching individual performances of the season.
He netted a hat-trick as Al Nassr beat Al Kholood 5-3 in the Saudi Pro League last week, a result that pushed his combined club and international career tally to 985 goals. He now sits just 15 from the 1,000-goal landmark he has publicly targeted.
Monday's match will be the second successive AFC Champions League game Ronaldo has missed.
Al Nassr's scheduled encounter against Al Wasl never took place after the UAE club refused to travel to Riyadh, prompting the Asian Football Confederation to postpone the fixture.
Al Nassr's continental campaign has also been disrupted by security concerns, with their home match on October 12 delayed by one hour following reported missile attacks linked to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Al Nassr's position in the AFC Champions League
Despite those disruptions, Al Nassr's situation in the competition demands attention.
The Saudi club currently sits ninth in the western zone standings, outside the top eight positions that secure automatic passage to the knockout rounds.
With a first-ever Asian continental title among the club's ambitions this season, the match against Pakhtakor carries genuine weight regardless of Ronaldo's absence.
Postecoglou will be expected to rotate his options effectively to ensure Al Nassr collect the points needed to move closer to qualification for the latter stages of the tournament.
Ronaldo reacts after netting a hat-trick
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick to inspire Al-Nassr to a 5-3 victory over Al Kholood in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday, October 29.
The 41-year-old later took to social media to celebrate the win and commend his teammates for their efforts.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
