No Cristiano Ronaldo… and it showed! Glum-looking CR7 watches from the stands as Al-Nassr fall flat in AFC Champions League defeat to Al-Sadd

Al-Nassr were quick to get out of the blocks despite not having Ronaldo on the field at Al-Awwal Stadium. Anderson Talisca missed a crucial chance in the 17th minute as he rattled the goalpost while free on goal before Sadio Mane missed a diving header from inside the six-yard box after a delightful cross from the Brazilian.

However, Al-Sadd also had a great opportunity to score after Marcelo Brozovic misplaced a pass to let Cristo Gonzalez through on goal before Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento made a fine save.

The second half saw Al-Sadd slowly make more inroads into the game with a lot more confidence than the first half. While Al-Nassr continued to push up high to try and get the opening goal, a pinpoint long ball from Gonzalez saw Akram Afif slot the ball past Bento to give the visitors the lead on the night.

Pioli immediately went all guns blazing with hyper-offensive substitutions and throwing the kitchen sink at Al-Sadd worked out for Al-Nassr as a good cross from Wesley was poked into his own net by former Wolves star Romain Saiss in the 80th minute.

However, the decision to go on attack hurt the Saudi outfit in the last minute of injury time, as Mohammed Al-Fatil brought down Adam Ounas inside the box as he attempted to stop a counter. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and Ounas did the rest to give the Qatari side a 2-1 win at Al-Awwal Stadium.

While Ronaldo was not in the squad for Al-Nassr's squad, the Portuguese legend was in the stands to support his side as they looked to get their fifth win of the competition. He was accompanied by his mother, Dolores Aveiro, for the game as the pair sat in the VIP box.

In the absence of Ronaldo, former Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte took up the duties of being the best player on the field as the centre-back was the dictator of play for Al-Nassr from the heart of the defence. The Frenchman had a passing accuracy of 96 per cent, having made a match-high of 105 passes through the game. Additionally, he also managed not to get dribbled past in the game and provided eight long balls from defence.

Pioli's decision to rotate and leave Ronaldo out of the squad came back to bite him as Al-Nassr lacked the finishing touch throughout the game.

Ronaldo will likely return to Pioli's lineup for Al-Nassr's next clash when they face Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad on Friday, December 6 as they look to claw down their eight-point gap at the top of the standings.