Postecoglou answers: why did he decide to leave Ronaldo out of the Asian battle?

What did he say?

Ange Postecoglou has explained why he left Cristiano Ronaldo out of Al-Nassr's squad for Monday's clash with Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor in the fourth round of the AFC Champions League Elite. The Australian pointed to a policy of resting key players, with fixtures piling up and travel taking its toll.

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Al-Nassr arrive with mixed results behind them. They opened with a 1-1 draw against Pakhtakor, then beat the UAE's Al-Wasl 3-1, before slipping to a 3-1 defeat to Qatar's Al-Shamal. Now they want a positive result to strengthen their standing in the West Group.

Ronaldo is not the only one being rested. France's Kingsley Coman and defender Mohamed Simakan also miss out, with the coaching staff keen to ease the physical load on the trio through a relentless run of matches and journeys ahead of the upcoming fixtures.

"I decided to rest Ronaldo, Coman and Simakan, given the congestion of matches and the frequency of travel," Postecoglou said in the pre-match press conference.

He went on to reflect on how far the side have come since the season began: "Despite the difficult start, the preparation conditions and the lack of complete readiness at the beginning of the season, we have now reached an excellent stage, and through tomorrow's match we aim to confirm that."

His parting message underlined Al-Nassr's continental ambition. "The tournament is important to us, and we here know very well what we want to achieve," he said, a nod to the team's drive to keep competing and deliver on their goals in the AFC Champions League Elite.