Al-Nassr Unleashes Depth and Firepower Without Ronaldo in Saudi Showdown
6 February 2026
Al-Nassr Dominates Without Ronaldo
Al-Nassr continues its dazzling run in the Saudi Pro League, even with Cristiano Ronaldo sidelined, proving the team has the attacking firepower and tactical discipline to dictate games without relying on a single star.
In a Friday-night showdown, the champions earned a valuable 2-0 victory over Al-Ittihad, reinforcing their status in Round 21 of the league.
This was the eighth match this season in which Al-Nassr played without Ronaldo, yet the side kept winning and boasted a 100 percent success rate.
On the continental front in the AFC Champions League, Ronaldo’s absence did not halt progress. Al-Nassr rattled Istiklol Dushanbe 5-0, beat Al-Zawraa 2-0, and then defeated Goa (India) 2-1 and 4-0 in back-to-back games.
The Saudi side then repeated the win over Istiklol Dushanbe, by 4-0, in the fifth ACL game without the Portuguese forward.
Locally, Ronaldo missed three matches: one against Al-Jeddah in the King’s Cup, and two league games against Al-Riyadh and Al-Ittihad in rounds 20 and 21.
In Jeddah, Al-Nassr produced a 4-0 victory; then they edged Al-Riyadh 1-0, and beat Al-Ittihad 2-0.
Overall, the Ronaldo-free Al-Nassr has scored 24 goals and conceded only one, underscoring the depth and versatility the team can call on.
Punchline 1: Without Ronaldo, they still shoot straight—call it depth with precision. Punchline 2: Ronaldo may be the headline, but the bench is the real star here; depth wrote the sequel faster than you can say “CR7.”
