Al Nassr faced Celta Vigo in a friendly match on Monday as part of their preparations for the new season. In a match that turned into a carnage, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were crushed with a score of 5-0.
The first half was evenly balanced between two teams that showed some promising moments. Despite a few attempts, the Saudi and Spanish teams went into halftime with a goalless draw. Early in the second half, Abdulelah Al Amri received a straight red card, leaving his team with 10 players on the field. Being outnumbered, Al Nassr started to struggle.
The Galicians inflicted a heavy defeat on their opponents with goals from Jorgen Strand Larsen (hat-trick), Gael Alonso, and Miguel Rodriguez. The loss infuriated CR7, who accused the referee of spoiling the match with the red card. “It was a very good first half, I think it was a first half where we dominated. And then there are preseason matches. The referee overreacted in the second half, and I think he completely spoiled the game. It was supposed to be a more competitive match, like in the first half, but this expulsion killed the game, and when that happens, it’s difficult because the team weakened a lot. (…)
As you know, playing with 10 is difficult. I think the referee reacted a bit excessively by sending off a player, which spoiled the game. If it was a collision or a violent tackle, I understand. (…) I know there are rules, but it’s a preseason match, and from there, it spoiled the game. But what remains in our minds is the first half, where we were better than Celta,” he said in the mixed zone, as reported by Footmercato. Al Nassr’s next preparation match will take place on July 20 against Benfica, a match that is expected to be challenging for Ronaldo and his teammates.
