On the morning of June 1, Al Nassr drew 1-1 with Al Hilal after 120 minutes and then lost 4-5 in the penalty shootout at the 2023/24 King Cup final.

Cristiano Ronaldo still cannot have an official title in the Middle East. After winning the Copa Italy championship with Juventus in 2021, Ronaldo only won the Arab Cup friendly tournament once earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, Al Hilal completed a successful season with a domestic treble, including the Saudi Pro League, Saudi Super Cup and now the King’s Cup.

Ronaldo went empty-handed for the second consecutive season with Al Nassr.

 

Ronaldo went empty-handed for the second consecutive season with Al Nassr.

Al Nassr had another disappointing performance against Al Hilal. Coach Luis Castro’s team held the ball well, created many opportunities but could not take advantage of them, and then paid the price because of continuous errors in the defense.

In the 6th minute, Sadio Mane had the opportunity to face the goalkeeper. However, he shot over the bar. In Al Hilal’s next attack, Al Nassr conceded. The yellow shirt defense did not complete its marking task and allowed Aleksandar Mitrovic to comfortably head the ball, defeating Ospina from close range.

Before finding an equalizer, Al Nassr had to play with 10 people. In the 51st minute, Ospina rushed out of the penalty area and blocked the ball with his hand, only to receive a red card.

With 10 people on the field, Al Nassr still played with determination. Ronaldo had many good chances, but he could not beat goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The only time Bounou was defeated, the ball from CR7’s foot found the post.

In the 87th minute, Al Hilal led 1-0 and was very close to winning the championship, an unbelievable scenario happened.

Al Hilal missed two consecutive opportunities to face the goalkeeper and then had to play with 10 people, when Al Bulayhi’s midfielder was suddenly sent off the field after headbutting his opponent’s face. Immediately after that, Al Hilal conceded a goal. Ayman Yahya headed in to equalize 1-1 for Al Nassr after a cross-field situation.

The drama hasn’t stopped yet. At 90 minutes, the defending champion Saudi Pro League had only 9 people left. Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off after receiving his second yellow card.

Even though they were outplayed in extra time, Al Nassr still couldn’t score. The final was drawn into a penalty shootout.

In the 6th shot, Abdulhamid missed, Al Nassr only needs to successfully execute the next shot to win the championship. However, Ronaldo’s two teammates, Al Hassan and Al Nemer, missed two consecutive kicks, thereby causing Al Nassr to lose 4-5 in the “shootout” series.