Cristiano Ronaldo was left out as Al-Nassr thrashed Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor 6-2 in their AFC Champions League Elite clash in Tashkent on Monday.

The 41-year-old forward was among three key players rested by manager Ange Postecoglou, alongside Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan, as the coach managed the players’ workload amid a demanding schedule and extensive travel.

Al-Nassr took control early at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium, with Abdullah Al-Hamdan opening the scoring in the 15th minute.

João Félix doubled the advantage two minutes later before the Portuguese forward struck again in the 32nd minute to put Al-Nassr 3-0 ahead.

Pakhtakor pulled one back through Flamarion in the 36th minute, but Al-Nassr continued their dominance after the break.

Abdulelah Al-Amri restored the three-goal advantage in the 53rd minute before Abdulrahman Ghareeb made it 5-1 nine minutes later.

Dostonbek Khamdamov scored Pakhtakor’s second goal in the 75th minute, but Ângelo completed the scoring for the Saudi club four minutes later.

Félix finished the game with two goals and two assists as Al-Nassr secured their second victory in the competition.

Ronaldo absent amid security concerns

Although Postecoglou cited fixture congestion and travel demands for resting Ronaldo, the player’s absence came against a backdrop of security concerns in the region.

The situation has included reported missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia. Al-Nassr’s previous home fixture in the competition was delayed following reports of attacks, while UAE club Al-Wasl later declined to travel to Riyadh, resulting in the postponement of their match.

Ronaldo had scored a hat-trick in Al-Nassr’s 5-3 Saudi Pro League victory over Al-Kholood last Thursday.

The goals took his season tally to nine in 12 appearances and his career total to 985, leaving him 15 goals short of the 1,000-goal milestone.

The victory moved Al-Nassr to fourth place in the AFC Champions League Elite West Region standings with six points, while Pakhtakor remained on two points.

The result also extended the Uzbek side’s winless run in the competition to four matches.