RIYADH.- Cristiano Ronaldo He missed a penalty in stoppage time and Al-Nassr was eliminated from the King’s Cup in Saudi Arabia after losing 1-0 to Al Taawoun on Tuesday.
The Portuguese star has yet to win a trophy since signing with the Saudi club almost two years ago.
In the round of 16 of the cup tournament, visiting Al Taawoun took the lead with Waleed Al-Ahmad’s header 20 minutes from time. Al-Ahmad himself committed a foul inside the area in the fifth minute of added time.
Cristiano had converted each of his previous 18 penalties to Al Nassrbut the latter raised it over the crossbar to the astonishment of the 14,519 fans present.
It is the first defeat suffered by Stefano Pioli since the Italian replaced Luis Castro as coach in September.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Al Nassr are still fighting for two titles this season. But the club is six points behind leaders Al-Hilal after eight games in the Saudi Arabian Pro League. They have seven points in three games in the group stage of the Asian Champions League.
Napoli passes tough test
Antonio Conte’s Napoli passed an important test of the legitimacy of its status as Serie A leader by beating Milan 2-0 at home on Tuesday.
Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia each scored goals in the first half of the match at San Siro and Napoli extended its lead to seven points over defending champion Inter Milan, who visited Empoli on Wednesday.
Lukaku brought down a defender before scoring from the center of the box early in the match. Before the break, Kvaratskhelia dribbled past two defenders before hitting an angled shot at the far post.
Milan center forward Alvaro Morata had a goal disallowed for offside early in the second half.
Milan is eighth, 11 points behind.
