A 3-1 defeat against the 13th-seeded Al Raed is nothing but a nightmare for the second-seeded Al Nassr. But was such a sloppy performance from Al Nassr a big surprise? It is not because the team’s defensive fleet lacks the cutting edge. Adding insult to injury, two of Al Nassr’s ace defenders- Sultan Al-Ghannam and Aziz Behich missed the Al Raed tie to nurse injuries. If a team’s back line is struggling, the rest of the squad including their forward fleet are expected to amp up their defensive play. However, Al Nassr acted contrary and went bullish on the offense, and Luis Castro is quite unhappy about the same.

Having Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane in the same forward fleet is a boon. But it turned out to be a bane in the Al Nassr-Al Raed clash. Not only did Ronaldo and Mane misfire, but their offense-heavy gameplay saw Al Nassr’s defense perish. “We know that we have defenders who are not at a high level. But when we have defensive problems, our team advances offensively and leaves the opponent standing behind,” said Luis Castro in a post-game interview.

Notably, Al Raed scored the first two of their goals by rightly exploiting the mishaps in Al Nassr’s defense. These goals came in counter-attacks and Al Nassr granted Al Raed players the luxury of too much space to easily net in goals. Had Ronaldo and Co. focused a bit on defense Castro pointed out, so many Al Raed players would not have been left unmarked. This woe will persist for Al Nassr in the upcoming crucial clashes. Meanwhile, offensive woes will also haunt CR7 and Mane, considering they will miss their strike partner Anderson Talisca.

Injuries rock Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr’s offense and defense

Al Nassr’s injured defenders Al-Ghannam and Behich will sit out for more than a month to nurse their injuries. During this period, the Riyadh club plays 6 matches including an AFC Champions League clash and a Saudi Super Cup semi-final against Al Hilal. Hence, if Castro and his men won’t fix their recently failed offense-heavy style, their defensive third would cripple again in the coming days.

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Well, Al Nassr’s offensive woes have just started. Their second top scorer Aderson Talisca (25 goals) is out for the remainder of the season after picking a thigh injury. So, it will take time for Al-Alami to adapt at the back and the front without key players. Unfortunately, they don’t have scrimmages or friendlies helping them to improve. Rather, do-or-die fixtures await Ronaldo and Co.

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