The stakes were already high. And with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo a big part of the narrative and prowling the pitch, Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, on home turf, against UAE’s Al Ain, in the return leg of a crucial AFC Champions League quarterfinal, it had all the ingredients of a cracker.
And true to its billing, the game lived up to it with its ebbs and flows with no clear winner at the end of regulation time and extra time with the matter to be decided by penalties.
Al Ain, the inaugural champions of the competition, got through after Al Nassr fluffed their lines in the spot kicks.
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But what followed was an ill-tempered ending to the game at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh. Following the penalty kicks, matters transcended into a brawl between some players and staff of both the teams. And caught in the midst of it was Portuguese ace and Saudi Pro League’s biggest superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Watch the video below:
The five-time Balloon d’Or winner has seen many a brawl in his heyday during his time in the top leagues in Europe.
Al Ain, who led 1-0 from the first leg at the spectacular Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, also received a hostile reception following Sultan Al Shamsi’s goal in extra time with water bottles thrown on the pitch when he celebrated with his teammates.
Watch how bottles were thrown at Al Ain players: