Cristiano Ronaldo destroys fan's phone as Al-Nassr penalty shocker proves costly
Al-Nassr crashed out of the King's Cup in Saudi Arabia following a 1-0 defeat to Al-Taawoun, as Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty and the chance to take the game to extra-time
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorCristiano Ronaldo hit a fan's phone after blazing his crucial 96th-minute penalty over the bar - and with it went Al-Nassr's cup hopes.
Ronaldo's Saudi Arabian club were dumped out of King's Cup on Tuesday in the round of 16, suffering their second defeat of the season. Having been rested for Friday's 3-3 draw with Al-Kholood in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo returned to manager Stefano Pioli's starting line-up at home to Al-Taawoun, only to be losing 1-0 going into the sixth minute of injury time.
Al-Nassr got themselves a penalty through late substitute Mohammed Maran and up stepped Ronaldo to take it. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is viewed as one of football's greatest ever penalty takers, particularly in the pressure moments.
But like at Euro 2024 when his extra-time spot-kick was saved against Slovenia, Ronaldo missed. The 39-year-old icon went for power and blazed his effort over the left-hand side of the goal. The ball flew into the stands and hit what appeared to be a young boy who was filming the moment on his phone, sending the device flying.
Al-Nassr still had a further seven minutes of added time to play but were unable to find an equaliser, as Ronaldo's miss proved costly. It's not the first time that Ronaldo has hit a fan's phone, having infamously knocked one out of a boy's hand during Manchester United's 1-0 loss away to Everton in 2022.
The Portuguese megastar and his team-mates now have one less chance of silverware this season, with the league title already looking unlikely, too. Sitting in third place, Al-Nassr are already six points behind reigning champion Al-Hilal - who they face at home on Friday - after just eight games.
Get involved! Will Cristiano Ronaldo bounce back from his penalty miss? Tell us your prediction the comments section.
There's no better fixture for Ronaldo to bounce back, having posted on Instagram after the bruising cup defeat: "Every challenge is an opportunity to grow."
Former AC Milan boss Pioli remarked: "We feel disappointed to be out of the cup. But we still have two championships and we will give our best in them. Our performance was good on a technical level, but not enough to win the match. We lost because we couldn't score the chances we had. Al-Taawoun scored from a corner kick."
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