Ronaldo scored three on Thursday, and Postecoglou has left him out of Al-Nassr’s Champions League trip to Pakhtakor
Al-Nassr are ninth in the AFC Champions League Elite West with a game in hand, and they face winless Pakhtakor in Tashkent at 7:15pm IST without Ronaldo, Coman or Simakan.
Nov 2, 2026
Al-Nassr play Pakhtakor in Tashkent on Monday without Cristiano Ronaldo. Ange Postecoglou has left him out of the squad for the AFC Champions League Elite game, along with Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan, to manage fatigue during a crowded run of fixtures, according to the Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah. No injury has been reported. Kick-off at the Pakhtakor Stadium is at 7:15pm IST.
The timing is a little odd, given the week Ronaldo has just had. He scored a second-half hat-trick in the 5-3 win over Al-Kholood on Thursday, which took him to 985 career goals by the count most outlets use, 15 short of 1,000. He is expected back for the Saudi Pro League trip to Al-Hazem on Friday, 6 November.
Al-Nassr have a game in hand
Al-Nassr have played two league-phase games, one fewer than every other side in the West except Al Wasl. They lost 4-0 at Al Ain on the opening matchday in September, then beat Neftchi 3-1 at home. Their third game, at home to Al Wasl on 26 October, was postponed when Al Wasl did not make the trip to Riyadh amid widespread flight disruption. No new date has been set.
That leaves them ninth of 16 in the West region on three points. A win in Tashkent would take them to six, with a game still to make up.
Without Ronaldo, the goals have to come from somewhere else. João Félix set up four in the Al-Kholood game and Sadio Mané scored in it, and neither is on the list of players left behind.
Pakhtakor are still waiting for a win
Pakhtakor came through the preliminary round with a 3-0 win over Al-Hussein, but they have not won in the league phase. They drew 1-1 with Al-Ahli and 1-1 with Al-Qadsiah, then lost 1-0 away to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, and they are 12th on two points, one behind Al-Nassr. Kamoliddin Tajiev’s side have struggled for results in recent weeks.
Al-Nassr go in on a five-game winning run in all competitions. Monday is a test of how much of that run depended on the man who stayed behind.