Al-Nassr came from 2-0 down and a man short to beat Al-Ettifaq 3-2 in the Saudi Pro League on Wednesday. Sadio Mané completed the turnaround in the 90th minute. Their captain was not on the pitch to see it, and was not in the dressing room to be part of it either.

Ronaldo had been taken off at half-time by Postecoglou, with Abdullah Al-Khaibari coming on in his place. On his way off, he threw his captain’s armband to the floor, visibly angry with the decision and the first-half performance he had been part of.

A few hours later, Ronaldo shared a Story on Instagram: a first-half team photo of himself in the huddle, with the caption “What a comeback!”. By then, the actual celebrations had happened without him.

Bento’s early red card left Al-Nassr chasing

Al-Nassr were reduced to ten men early on when goalkeeper Bento was sent off. Ondrej Duda and Alvaro Medran then punished the ten before the break to send Al-Ettifaq in 2-0 up.

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Postecoglou made his call at the interval: off went Ronaldo, on came the substitutes. It worked. Mané pulled one back in the 74th minute from a Joao Félix assist. Minutes later, Abdulelah Al-Amri headed home from a corner to make it 2-2. Mané then finished the comeback in the 90th to seal a 3-2 win.

Postecoglou stands by taking off his captain

The Al-Nassr manager offered no apology for the substitution when he faced reporters afterwards.

“When I made the substitutions, including taking Ronaldo off, I believed the players coming on could make an impact,” Postecoglou said.

“I came here to help the players, so as I said, I’m proud of them because every substitute made a positive contribution.”

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Postecoglou added that Ronaldo had performed “exceptionally well” in the first half, but that he had opted for a different approach after the break.

Postecoglou’s first weeks at Al-Nassr

The Australian took over from Jorge Jesus during the summer, after Jesus left the club despite winning the Saudi Pro League title last season. The Al-Ettifaq comeback came in one of Postecoglou’s first competitive matches in charge.

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