Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait to win his first title in Saudi Arabia. His Al-Nassr team was defeated in a dramatic penalty shootout (3-5) by Al-Hilal, after the regulation time ended in a 2-2 draw. The Portuguese missed a great opportunity to increase his already dazzling record and his face reflected maximum disappointment when Galeno scored the decisive penalty.
Cristiano did everything possible to lead his team to the title. He completed the 90 minutes, scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-0 and in the shootout he converted his. However, it was not enough. Edouard Mendy saved Khaibari’s penalty, while Bento failed to stop any.
Al-Ahli won the Super Cup, a team that arrived by chance after Al-Hilal’s resignation for not having enough time to prepare after playing in the Club World Cup.
Al-Ahli were always trailing, but their faith allowed them to first force penalties and then take the title.
The pitch was not in the best possible condition and prevented the touch play that Al-Nassr wanted to practice. Players for tiki-taka are plentiful for Jorge Jesus, although he was missing an important player in Sadio Mane, who was suspended for the red card he received in the semifinal.
Al-Nassr’s arrivals followed one another. Wesley and Coman came close to opening the scoring, but could not beat a confident Edouard Mendy. Cristiano Ronaldo also tried his luck with an overhead kick and Joao Felix with a shot from the baseline that did not surprise the former Chelsea goalkeeper.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Al-Nassr ahead by converting a penalty for handball by Ali Majrashi, which was hotly contested by all the Al-Ahli players. The referee stood by his decision and Cristiano made no mistake. It was his 100th goal for Al-Nassr.
More was expected of Joao Felix, who, apart from a few touches, went unnoticed. In the second half he improved his performance, but he still lacks the ability to be a game-changer.
Al-Ahli had more difficulty reaching the opposing goal, but when they did, the danger was evident. Especially when the ball reached the feet of Mahrez.
It seemed that the first half was going to end with an advantage for Al-Nassr, but a play between Millot and Kessie was finished by the former Barcelona player to score a superb goal and equalize the game.
In the second half, Al-Ahli came out better and for a few minutes managed to lock Al-Nassr in their area, although they could not finish off this dominance with a goal that would give them the lead on the scoreboard.
Al-Nassr took the lead again with a beautiful goal from Brozovic scored ten minutes from the end of the match, but only five minutes later Al-Hilal equalized again when Roger Ibanez took advantage of a bad start by Bento and headed the corner kick taken by Marhez into the net.
In the penalty shootout, Al Ahli scored all five through Ivan Toney, Frank Kessie, Riyad Mahrez, Firas Al Birakan and the last one, which sealed the victory, from Galeno. For Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic and Joao Felix scored. Goalkeeper Mendy saved Abdullah Al Khaibari’s penalty, the fourth, and there was no need for a fifth.
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