Cristiano Ronaldo faces Al-Nassr problems as boss outlines three areas that must improve

Things have not gone to plan for Cristiano Ronaldo since joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr and his managed outlined three areas that must improve with his arrival

Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia has outlined three issues with Cristiano Ronaldo ’s incorporation into the team that must be solved.

Things have not gone entirely to plan for the Portuguese superstar after completing a stunning move to the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month. Garcia’s league leaders were dumped out of the Saudi Super Cup by close rivals Al-Ittihad on Thursday, with captain Ronaldo blanking once again following his goalless debut appearance last Sunday.

Al-Nassr fell to a 3-1 defeat against their domestic rivals with Ronaldo missing a costly change in front of goal just moments before Al-Ittihad doubled their lead just before the break. The 37-year-old has yet to score in either of his opening two competitive matches for the club.

Garcia did not shy away from criticising his new talisman missing a gilt-edged chance during the game. “One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano’s missed opportunity in the first half,” the boss assessed after the game.

“I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They presented a much better first half than us, and we played a good second half, but unfortunately we were not able to adjust the result. It’s true that we regret losing the Super Cup, but we are still the first in the league.”

Al-Ittihad striker Abderrazak Hamdallah also took a snide dig at Ronaldo by replicating one of Messi’s most iconic goal celebrations after scoring moments after the Portuguese star’s miss. But Garcia’s concerns were not isolated to just the one incident.

“It is very important that the players play normally and don’t always try to give Cristiano the ball,” Garcia lamented after the game. “I told them they had to make the right decisions on the pitch.

“Obviously, when Cristiano or Anderson Talisca are alone and ask for the ball, we have to give them the ball. These two players are capable of making a difference.”

Garcia added that the positioning of the club’s two main goal threats was also proving to be problematic: “I think sometimes we had good crossing positions, but there were not enough people in the box, sometimes not Ronaldo or Talisca. We have to work on it, have one of them in the area and maybe the other will play outside the area.”