Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr to Host Esteghlal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be back powering Al Nassr when the Saudi Arabian team hosts Esteghlal in the return leg of the AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 Round of 16 tie on Monday.
The match at Riyadh's King Saud University Stadium promises to be a thriller, with last week's first leg having ended in a goalless stalemate.
An injury kept Ronaldo out of the first leg - which saw the Riyadh-based club squander six clear chances - but the Portuguese star scored in Al Nassr's 2-2 draw with Al Shabab in a Saudi Pro League tie on Friday.
The goal took Ronaldo's domestic tally to 18 and the Al Nassr skipper has also been in fine form on the continental stage, having already found the back of the net six times.
He has yet to, however, score against a side from Iran but Al Nassr - aiming to make the last eight stage for the fifth time - will head into the tie with confidence, having not lost to teams from the Central Asian nation in its last 12 meetings.
Esteghlal, however, will take on Al Nassr on the back of a five-match unbeaten run in the AFC Champions League Elite.
A resolute defensive performance helped the Iranian side keep Al Nassr at bay last week but it will need to adopt a more attacking outlook if it is to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in its history.
They will also draw confidence from the form of Hossein Hosseini, whose 39 saves has him top of the goalkeepers' chart.
