Jhon Duran did not ship in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence as Al Nassr’s depressing document with out their talisman continued.
The previous Aston Villa striker made a scintillating begin to life within the Saudi Professional League however his dream has since was a nightmare.
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The 21-year-old scored 4 objectives in his first three appearances since be part ofing the membership from Premier League giants Villa for £64million.
Nevertheless, he was handed a straight crimson card in simply his fourth match for Al Nassr which has coincided with the objectives drying up.
Duran’s barren run stretched to 4 video games as his new facet have been held to a goalless draw with Esteghlal of Iran within the first leg of the AFC Champions League Elite second spherical tie on Monday.
The Colombian had an enormous alternative to impress whereas main the road, with strike accomplice Ronaldo not concerned within the squad in any respect.
Duran as an alternative endured an evening to neglect as he missed a number of clear alternatives to be the hero on the Azadi Sports activities Advanced.
It additionally continues Al Nassr’s horrible vein of type in Ronaldo’s absence, with only one win from the six video games the 40-year-old has missed this season.
Their sole victory was a 2-1 win over second-division facet Al Hazem, with 4 attracts, two of them with out scoring together with tonight.
With out Ronaldo, Stefano Pioli’s facet have did not beat Baghdad outfit Al Shorta, Iranian membership Persepolis and home Saudi rivals Al Kholood – having additionally suffered a defeat to Qatari Al Sadd.
Duran had the largest probabilities in opposition to Esteghlal, fluffing a one-on-one in opposition to goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini, having one other shot cleared off the road and hitting the submit within the second half – with ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane additionally failing to make his mark.
Duran’s downturn in efficiency since his quick begin to life in Saudi has drawn criticism from followers, with former Al Nassr star Anderson Talisca popping out to defend the ahead not too long ago on social media.
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Al Nassr document with out Ronaldo this season
— AFC CL – Al Shorta 1-1 Al Nassr DRAW
— Kings Cup – Al Hazem 1-2 Al Nassr WIN
— Saudi Professional League – Al Kholood 3-3 Al Nassr DRAW
— AFC CL – Al Nassr 1-2 Al Sadd LOSS
— AFC CL – Persepolis 0-0 Al Nassr DRAW
— AFC CL – Esteghlal 0-0 Al Nassr DRAW
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He wrote on X, previously often known as Twitter: “He is a superb participant and can do rather a lot for this membership.
“The issue is that you simply all the time need to discover somebody in charge for the defeats, however you do not see the place the actual mistake lies.
“Cease performing like this on a regular basis. You recognize the place the error is, you are simply afraid to say it, lol.”
The AFC Champions League Elite is probably going Nassr’s final probability to win a trophy this season, with Ronaldo a five-time winner of UEFA’s model.
Within the Saudi Professional League, the Riyadh-based membership sit in fourth and path leaders Al Ittihad by ten factors.
“I’m glad with the efficiency of the gamers,” Al-Nassr coach Pioli mentioned. “It is very important bear in mind that there’s one other sport.”
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Ronaldo is anticipated to characteristic within the return match in Riyadh on March 11, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals.
First up, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will likely be wanted on Friday when Al Nassr return to motion in opposition to Al Shabab within the SPL.
Ronaldo has 17 objectives in 22 video games this season, already matching his whole from the 2022/23 season.
He is now 75 objectives away from 1000 for membership and nation all through his profession.