Cristiano Ronaldo misses rare penalty as Al Nassr lose to Al Taawoun in King Cup of Champions | WATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a rare penalty as Al Nassr was knocked out of the King Cup of Champions 2024-25 on Tuesday after losing 1-0 to Al Taawoun in the Round of 16 match at Al Awwal Park. Waleed Al-Ahmed scored the only goal in the match while Ronaldo suffered a nightmare performance, and Al Nassr failed to replicate their last season’s run when they reached the final, where they lost to Al Hilal.

Al Nassr had a chance to open the scoring in the match as early as in the third minute when Anderson Talisca attempted a shot from inside the box but Al Taawoun goalkeeper Mailson Tenório dos Santos was up to the task and made a good save to keep the scores levelled.

Talisca had another opportunity to open the scoring six minutes into the second half as the 30-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder attempted to get to the end of the lobbed pass from Ronaldo, but the danger was cleared away by a Mailson punch.

As Al Nassr failed on multiple attempts, Al Taawoun scored the first goal of the match in the 71st minute as Waleed met a Faycal Fajr corner and put into the net with a strong header.

Ronaldo, 39, also had a glorious chance to level the score towards the end of the second half when his free kick was saved by Mailson.

Al Nassr, however, finally had a clear chance to score when goalscorer Waleed ended up conceding a penalty in the added minute of the second half after a foul on Mohammed Maran inside the penalty box. Ronaldo stepped for the penalty with an eye on taking the match into the extra time but ended up blasting the ball over the bars in the 96th minute of the stoppage time.

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— كورة | Alnassr 📽️ (@BLLvid) October 29, 2024

Ronaldo was naturally shocked at his miss a he covered his face with his hands. He responded to the penalty miss with a social media post that read: “Every challenge is an opportunity to grow.”

Al Nassr and Ronaldo will now be back in action on 1 November as they take on Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.