“Al-Nassr” has arrived in Tashkent: Why are Ronaldo and 2 stars not playing against “Pakhtakor”?

Saudi Arabia's grand club “Al-Nassr” arrived in Tashkent today, October 31. However, the main news eagerly awaited by thousands of football fans in our capital brought an unexpected disappointment — the team's main star, 41-year-old Portuguese goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, is not among the delegation that arrived in Tashkent.

According to reports from the influential Saudi publication Arriyadiyah, head coach Ange Postecoglou has decided to significantly rotate the squad for this trip.

A trio of stars who did not come to Tashkent

Taking into account the tight schedule and high pressure in the Saudi championship, Australian specialist Ange Postecoglou decided to give three key players a rest for the Tashkent trip:

• Cristiano Ronaldo: The legendary Portuguese striker was not included in the final squad traveling to Tashkent;

• Kingsley Coman: The team's French winger is also among the players who did not fly to Uzbekistan;

• Mohamed Simakan: The defender, who is a key pillar of the central defense, will also miss the match in Tashkent.

“Pakhtakor” — “Al-Nassr”: Match time and tournament status

Details of the central confrontation within the framework of the 4th round of the AFC Champions League Elite Western region are as follows:

• Match date and time: November 2, at 18:45 Tashkent time;

• “Pakhtakor” status: The “Lions” are in 12th place in the tournament table with 2 points after 3 rounds;

• “Al-Nassr” status: The Riyadh club is in 9th place with 3 points after 3 rounds.

“Al-Nassr” in the center of the fight in the Saudi Pro League

Postecoglou's charges are demonstrating a very strong and confident pace in the domestic championship:

• 9 wins from 11 matches: The Riyadh side has won 9 out of 11 matches since the beginning of the season;

• Race for the leaders: The team is in 2nd place in the tournament table with 28 points and has the same number of points as the championship leader “Al-Qadsiah” (28 points).

The high intensity of the championship intrigue in the domestic league was the main factor that forced the “Al-Nassr” coaching staff to save their main forces for the AFC Champions League Elite match in Tashkent.