Cristiano Ronaldo may be the most popular player on the Al Nassr squad by far, but the whole team is required for performances in the AFC Champions League Elite.
That much is especially true in the league phase, when Ronaldo does not travel with the team for away matches across borders to give the 41-year-old time to rest and recover.
Such was the case as Al Nassr flew to Uzbekistan for a meeting with Pakhtakor in the West Region, as Al Nassr were pushing to be one of the top eight in the 16-team standings to earn qualification to the knockout stage.
Knowing Ronaldo was not with the side, his countrymate Joao Felix stole the show to give Al Nassr a big victory and another step forwards towards knockout stage qualification.
MORE: All the latest Cristiano Ronaldo news
Joao Felix cooks as Al Nassr remain strong in Champions League
In Ronaldo’s absence, Joao Felix took control of the match early on, scoring two goals and assisting two more as Al Nassr won 6-2 on the road in Uzbekistan.
Felix scored his goals in the 17th and 32nd minutes, also assisting Abdullah Al-Hamdan’s opener in the 15th minute and again providing for Abdulelah Al Amri in the 53rd minute to put Al Nassr up 4-1.
By the time Felix was withdrawn in the 68th minute, he had done more than enough to send Al Nassr through with all three points.
You can watch the highlights from the match on the AFC YouTube channel here.
Al Nassr sitting fourth in AFC Champions Elite table
With the win, Al Nassr moved fourth in the West Region of the AFC Champions League Elite standings.
They have won two of their three games so far, suffering a brutal 4-0 defeat in their opening game against Al Ain but beating Neftchi and Pakhtakor by a combined 7-3.
Their match against Al Wasl was postponed due to travel difficulties that prevented the UAE side from arriving in Riyadh, and a new date for that match has not yet been set up.
