Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr fell on penalties (5-4), after drawing 1-1 in regulation 90 minutes and in extra time, against Neymar’s Al Hilal in the final of the King’s Cup in Saudi Arabia. The images of the attitude of the Portuguese star, who burst into tears after the defeat, spread around the world.
The fight for the title between the two best teams in the country, the champion and the runner-up, ended with three players expelled: one from Al Nassr, the Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, at the beginning of the second half, and two from Al Hilal in the second half. Despite playing the last stretch and overtime with nine players, the team led by CR7 was not effective in finishing from twelve steps.
In television footage, Ronaldo could not hide his grief and broke down in tears on the grass after the loss. Despite scoring his penalty in the shootout, he was frustrated by the shock defeat that left his team without a prize.
Al Nassr was the winner of the 2023 Arab Club Championship. This squad hasn’t won a championship since then.
Although their star player, Brazilian Neymar, was sidelined for several months due to injury, Al Hilal, led by the Portuguese Jorge Jesús, the undisputed Saudi League champion, finished the season with the Cup, competing in the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah as substitutes.
Not counting “Neymar,” Al Hilal featured players of the caliber of Bono, Kalidou Koulibali, Renan Lodi, Ruben Neves, Malcom, and Aleksandr Mitrovic in their starting eleven.
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