Cristiano Ronaldo broke down in tears after Al Nassr’s defeat against rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Cup final on penalties to end their season trophyless. Ronaldo was distraught after the result as Al Nassr went down on penalties, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou being Al-Hilal’s hero with two saves.
Ronaldo took the second chance in the shootout and converted it, as did Al-Hilal’s star Aleksandar Mitrovic, but in the end, Bounou made a massive difference in helping his side win the final 5-4 on penalties.
The two teams, who dominated the Saudi league campaign before Jorge Jesus’s side won the title for the 19th time, were locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes when a last-gasp equaliser from Ayman Yahya forced the extra period but there were no goals.
Mitrovic put Al-Hilal ahead in the game after just 7 minutes as Al-Nassr trailed behind for most of the clash. Mitrovic had put Al-Hilal ahead after seven minutes when he headed home Malcom’s cross in the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at King Abdullah Sports City.
Ronaldo fired a spectacular bicycle kick against the post after the break, but he was, in any case, offside. He failed to break the deadlock throughout the 90 minutes, but Yahya somehow managed to take the game to extra time.
The Portuguese superstar had a brilliant season on an individual level but he ended it trophyless which left him distraught and was seen in tears after the clash.
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The 39-year-old recently broke the record of most goals in a Saudi Pro League season with his brace against Al-Ittihad in the last league stage match. Ronaldo scored 35 goals in a season and he broke the record of Abderrazak Hamdallah, former Al Nassr star, who netted 34 in the 2019 season.
Al-Nassr finished second in the league, 14 points behind local rival Al-Hilal, which won the championship more than two weeks ago and completed the 34-round league unbeaten on Monday.
Meanwhile, after the Saudi Cup defeat, Al Nassr CEO Guido Fienga confirmed that Ronaldo will stay at the club also next season despite a heartbreaking ending to the 2023-24 campaign.
