Al Hilal achieves a double in Saudi Arabia on penalties, and Ronaldo is once again without a local title

Al Hilal were the last Saudi team this season, after their run in the league, they also won the cup by defeating Al Nassr 5-4 on penalties in the final.

Jorge Jesus’ side took the lead in the seventh minute with Aleksandar Mitrovic’s shot from close range, and despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s efforts, the conversion did not happen. The Portuguese model was subjected to unexpected scissors in the second half, but David Ospina’s expulsion in the 56th minute made Al Nasr’s mission impossible.

When Mitrovic found himself in the fourth in the 85th minute, it seemed like it was all over, but somewhere there were ups and downs. The Serbian bobber made a mistake, and in the 87th minute, Ali Al-Bulaihi was sent off for kicking an opponent, while everyone was waiting for a throw-in.

After implementing it with the numerical balance on the grass now, Ayman Yahya equalized the score 1-1. In the next stage, Al Hilal attacked and Kalidou Koulibaly found himself in the opponent’s small area, but Yacine Bounou caught him. The Senegalese tried to pass him, but he hit the Moroccan goalkeeper and was also sent off with the second yellow card for the champions, sending the match to extra time in conditions completely different from those that were created until the last minutes.

In extra time, the artificial offside constantly crept up on Ronaldo, and Al Hilal was able to keep the score level and send the match to extra time. After the first unsuccessful attempts, the Portuguese took the second and scored. The two teams together failed in the sixth execution, but Yassine Bounou also saved Al-Nasr’s seventh penalty kick and awarded the cup to his team.

Neymar’s side (remained sidelined through injury but on the pitch) lifted the trophy for an 11th time, while Ronaldo was once again without a domestic trophy, having been left with the Arab Champions Cup in his tenure in the Middle East.

“The Golden Bible”

• 13 openings: Al-Ahly (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 2011, 2012, 2016)
• 11 conquests: Al Hilal (1961, 1964, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023)
• 9 conquests: Union (1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1967, 1988, 2010, 2013, 2018)
• 6 conquests: Al-Nasr (1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990)
• 3 conquests: Al-Shabaab Movement (2008, 2009, 2014)
• 2 conquests: Unity (1957, 1966), Agreement (1968-1985)
• 1 Al-Fath: Al-Taqoun (2019), Al-Faisaly (2021), Al-Fayhaa (2022)