In the Saudi National Cup final that took place early this morning, June 1, Cristiano Ronaldo came dangerously close to scoring a goal of a lifetime.

Ronaldo’s second season at Al Nassr was disappointing as they only managed to place second in the Saudi Pro League standings. They lost badly even after making it to the Saudi Cup final.

After tying 1-1 in the regulation 90 minutes, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr team was forced to concede a 4-5 loss in the penalty shootout against Al-Hilal. Three players may have been disqualified because of how heated the match was.

In the seventh minute of play, Mitrovic’s leaping header past goalkeeper Ospina gave Al Nassr an early lead. In order to find the equalizing goal, Ronaldo and his colleagues had to battle hard to overcome an early deficit.

The opportunity came right in the first seconds of the second half…. Photo: X Center Goals.

The ball bounced off the post to the surprise of the players. Photo: X Center Goals.

One of those efforts includes the Portuguese superstar’s “uninverted bicycle kick” right at the beginning of the second half. When the second half had just started a few dozen seconds, Al Nassr had a chance to score a good goal. When Otavio received the ball in the penalty area from a pass from his teammate, the midfielder immediately crossed the ball deep inside. where Ronaldo is waiting.

The 39-year-old striker threw the ball beautifully, while goalkeeper Bono could only stand still and watch. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post and bounced out to the surprise of all the fans in the stands. Ronaldo regretfully missed the opportunity to score a super goal.

 

Commenting on this situation on social networks, fans all expressed disbelief that the goal had not yet come for the Portuguese star: “Ronaldo missed the Puskas award of the year, oh my god!!”, “Garnacho ah , your Puskas award is still safe. That’s crazy”, “Why did the ball hit the post, Ronaldo is so unlucky”…

Minutes later, Al Nassr continued to attack in search of a goal, but was still hopeless. The turning point occurred when in the 87th and 90th minutes of the match, two Al Hilal players had to leave the field consecutively due to receiving red cards. In the 88th minute, Yahya headed home from close range, leveling the score 1-1 and sending the match into extra time to the utter happiness of the whole team.

The match took place with so many stressful situations that CR7 had to complain to the referee. Photo: Getty Images.

Ronaldo played hard, but the goal still inexplicably “eluded” him. Photo: Getty Images.

However, both teams could not score more goals in extra time and the match had to enter a penalty shootout. Bono – the goalkeeper who shone at the 2022 World Cup in the penalty shootout against Spain in the 1/8 round on Al Hilal’s side had an excellent performance, when he saved three penalty kicks from Al Nassr, while goalkeeper Abdullah on the other side could only block one shot.

Ronaldo collapsed on the field when he saw his teammates miss a penalty. Photo: Getty Images.

The final whistle sounded, CR7 could not suppress his helpless emotions and burst into tears. Photo: Getty Images.

His teammates and coaching staff came to comfort him after the defeat. Photo: Getty Images.

They continued to encourage him as they stood up and left the field. Photo: Getty Images.

Cristiano Ronaldo still cannot forget his sadness, even after he left the field. Photo: Getty Images.

Despite his impressive performance with 53 goals and 13 assists in the 2023/24 season, Ronaldo still had to sadly accept a bitter defeat, when his Al Nassr was officially defeated by Al Hilal in a penalty shootout. saved with a score of 4-5, ending a year full of efforts but not complete.