According to a report by Daily Post Nigeria on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Al-Nassr manager Ange Postecoglou has rejected claims that his team performs better offensively when Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the starting line-up.

The Saudi Arabian club produced an impressive attacking display on Monday, recording a convincing 6–2 victory over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in their AFC Champions League encounter.

However, Ronaldo was absent from the squad after featuring in Al-Nassr’s previous domestic fixture, where the Portuguese forward delivered an outstanding performance by scoring a hat-trick within just 15 minutes.

Following the emphatic victory, Postecoglou dismissed suggestions that Ronaldo’s absence was responsible for the team’s improved attacking performance. The manager maintained that Al-Nassr had already demonstrated their offensive strength with the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward on the pitch.

He specifically recalled that the team scored five goals in their previous match, which Ronaldo featured in, insisting that the collective performance of the players was more important than the presence or absence of any individual.

“Cris played the last game and we scored five goals,” Postecoglou said. “Whether Cris plays or not, the most important thing is that the players who featured today performed at a very strong level.”

The manager’s remarks indicated that he was more interested in recognising the contributions of the players who participated in the victory than entertaining comparisons between the team’s performances with and without Ronaldo.

Although Al-Nassr’s six-goal performance against Pakhtakor demonstrated the attacking depth available to the club, Postecoglou made it clear that he does not consider the result evidence that his team performs better without the Portuguese captain.