Cristiano Ronaldo of Al-Nassr FC reacts during the Saudi Pro League match between Al Nassr v Al Ettifaq at Al -Awwal Park on February 21, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images). Former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been warned by Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli after losing his cool when Jhon Duran was sent off on Friday night.. Ronaldo lost his temper on the pitch when his Al-Nassr teammate, Duran, was shown a red card in the final moments of their 3-2 defeat to Al-Ettifaq on Friday.. Duran, who transferred from Aston Villa to Al-Nassr in January for £64million, was sent off for an alleged slap on the back of an opponent’s head. The Al-Ettifaq player, Abdulelah Al-Malki, appeared to exaggerate the contact, falling to the ground and clutching his head to ensure Duran’s punishment.. Ronaldo was immediately in front of the referee, pleading with him not to show the card before reacting angrily, throwing his arms around, arguing with the linesman and then kicking the ball off the centre spot and into the stands. The experienced forward then moved towards the touchline, where he seemed to be gesturing angrily at the fourth official.. He managed to avoid any punishment for dissent, but the defeat was a severe setback for Al-Nassr’s title hopes. Al-Nassr are reportedly contemplating appealing against the red card for star signing Duran, who is set to miss their upcoming Saudi Pro League match against bottom side Al-Wehda.. In the aftermath of a challenging match, Al-Nassr’s manager Stefano Pioli said: “I’m not happy with the red card, [but] our players have to be calm.. “We could have played better, but mistakes cost me a lot today and caused the loss. Today’s match started well and we took the lead, but what made the difference were the mistakes.”, reports the Mirror.. “Everyone is responsible for mistakes, I am the first one responsible for correcting mistakes and we do the work very seriously. We did not lose the match for tactical reasons, but because of the individual mistakes we made.”. The match saw former Liverpool star Georginio Wijnaldum seal the win for Al-Ettifaq with a late goal in the 89th minute. This defeat drops Al-Nassr to fourth place in the Saudi Pro League.. They now sit eight points adrift of leaders Al-Ittihad, who also have a game in hand, with 13 matches remaining.. Despite this setback, Ronaldo remains a beacon of success on the pitch, currently leading the Pro League scoring charts with 16 goals from 19 outings. However, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid colleague Karim Benzema isn’t far off the pace, netting 15 times for league frontrunners Al-Ittihad.. Article continues below. Ronaldo’s dreams of lifting the Pro League trophy appear slim this season. Nonetheless, Al-Nassr are still in the hunt for silverware in the AFC Champions League, preparing for a crucial last-16 tie with Iran’s Esteghlal scheduled for March.
