Cristiano Ronaldo was left in tears as Al Nassr lost on penalties to Al Hilal in the King’s Cup of Champions final. The intense match culminated in a dramatic penalty shootout that saw Al Hilal emerge victorious.
Al Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring early in the first half, giving his team a crucial advantage. However, Al Nassr’s Ayman Yahya equalized later in the match, pushing the game into extra time and eventually to penalties.
Ronaldo had a near-miss with a spectacular bicycle kick before half-time, but his effort unfortunately hit the post. This was one of the many tense moments in a match that saw three red cards.
Al Nassr’s goalkeeper David Ospina was sent off, alongside Al Hilal’s Ali Albulayhi and Kalidou Koulibaly. Ospina’s dismissal forced a tactical change, with Sadio Mane being sacrificed to bring on the substitute goalkeeper.
During the penalty shootout, Ruben Neves and Alex Telles both missed their shots for Al Nassr, while Mitrovic and Ronaldo successfully converted their attempts. The decisive moment came when Al Nassr’s Ali Alhassan missed his penalty, allowing Al Hilal to clinch the title.
Ronaldo, visibly in tears after the miss, needed assistance to leave the pitch. This loss was particularly painful for Al Nassr, whose last King’s Cup victory was in 1990. Their recent record against Al Hilal has been poor, with four losses in their last five encounters.