The nightmare called Al Hilal happened again to Ronaldo and his teammates. This morning, they tried very hard but still could not win the Saudi King Cup final, thereby ending the season without winning any title.
Both teams fielded their strongest squads with Al Nassr placing their trust in some big names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Otavio, Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic. Meanwhile, Al Hilal operates based on a core group including Mitrovic, Malcom…
With better cohesion between positions, Al Hilal got off to a better start. They took the lead right from the 8th minute thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s finish. He headed neatly after Malcom’s pass.
The match that followed took place behind closed doors. Al Hilal advocates playing firmly, waiting for the opportunity while Al Nassr tries to attack but has difficulty.
Ronaldo had a golden chance to equalize in the 36th minute but his effort from close range was saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Al Nassr accepted the end of the first half with a goal.
Ronaldo couldn’t hold back his tears
In the second half, Ronaldo became the highlight again. He had a great chance to equalize in the 46th minute. But after his classy hook, the ball found its way to the goal post.
Al Nassr had to play with 10 players in the 56th minute when goalkeeper David Ospina was sent off. However, the situation turned around in the 88th minute. It was Al Hilal’s turn to play with 10 players as Al Bulayhi received a second yellow card. And just 1 minute later, Al Nassr brought the match back to the starting line with an equalizer.
By the 90th minute, Al Nassr had a numerical advantage. Al Hilal was sent off for the second time with Koulibaly’s direct red card. Al Nassr held the upper hand in 2 extra periods. They played better than others but could not create the necessary pressure.
After 30 minutes of extra time, no more goals were scored and the match had to go to a penalty shootout. Here, Al Hilal is a luckier and braver club. They won 5-4. This club missed 1 penalty shootout while Al Nassr missed 2.
This defeat means Al Nassr is officially empty-handed in the 2023/24 season. All three Saudi Arabia trophies belong to Al Hilal. After the match, Ronaldo sobbed. In the past 2 years at Al Nassr, he only won 1 title, the Arab C1 Cup, and clearly that could not satisfy this superstar.