WATCH: Al-Nassr miss Cristiano Ronaldo! Shocking error costs Saudi Pro League side two points in AFC Champions League tie against Istiklol as legendary Portuguese forward sits out of clash

Al-Nassr boss Luis Castro decided to rest Ronaldo in their final continental outing in Group E on Tuesday evening. However, the Saudi Pro League side failed to bag the three points in the absence of their talismanic forward as they were held to a 1-1 draw at the Central Stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

A shocking error from Abdulrahman Ghareeb in midfield allowed the hosts to take the lead just after the half-hour mark. A careless backpass from the winger was cut off by Alisher Dzhalilov who tried his luck from outside the penalty box and slotted the ball home into the right corner of Raghed Najjar's net.

Nassr started the second half with more intent and purpose as they kept raiding Istiklol's fort in search of an equaliser. And in the 50th minute, Ghareeb brought his team back into the match with an opportunistic strike. Nawaf Boushal's cross was half-heartedly palmed away by Rustom Yatimov and as the ball fell for Ghareeb, he made no mistake in burying it in the goal to redeem himself from his earlier error.

Despite the draw, Al-Nassr finished as group leaders with 14 points from their six matches. Hence, they will be in Pot 1 during the Round of 16 draw on December 28.

Ronaldo will be back in action against Al-Riyadh on Friday in the Saudi Pro League looking to add to his impressive tally of 24 goals from 26 appearancesthis season. He has been nursing a minor neck injury and the break will allow him to fully recover from that ailment.