Cristiano Ronaldo’s Goal in Vain as Al Hilal Defeats Al Nassr in Saudi Super Cup Final
Ronaldo’s Early Goal Not Enough as Al Hilal Dominates Second Half with Four Unanswered Goals
Al Hilal Overwhelms Al Nassr 4-1 in Saudi Super Cup Final Despite Ronaldo’s Opener
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in Saturday’s Saudi Super Cup final, but Al Hilal’s fightback could not be resisted as Al Nasser lost 4-1 at the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Stadium.
Ronaldo scored the opener, but Saudi Pro League and King’s Cup champions Hilal roared back after the break with goals from Sergej Milinkovic Savic and Malcom either side of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Hilal and Nassr were by far the best teams in the SPL last season – although Hilal edged clear by winning the title by 14 points – so it was fitting that the two Riyadh giants clashed in the season curtain-raiser finale.
Both teams created chances in a competitive first half. A penalty was appealed by the referee in the 11th minute when Ronaldo challenged Hilal defender Hasan Altambakti for the ball. At the other end, Mitrovic saw his header hit in the 34th minute.
Ronaldo opened the scoring two minutes before the break following excellent build-up from Saudi winger Salem Altawsari, who drew three Hilal players before squaring the ball across the area for the Portuguese to finish first-time in the far corner.
In the second half, Hilal came flying out of the traps, pushed Nasser back and received numerous crosses into the area. The pressure soon told as Milinkovic Savic equalized brilliantly in the 55th minute. Charging Serbian midfielder Nasr won the ball midway through the half and after a quick one-two with Mitrovic, carved through the defense before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.
The floodgates opened for Hilal as he scored his four goals in a span of 17 minutes. Mitrovic gave his side the lead in the 63rd minute when he headed in Ruben Neves’ cross. Six minutes later, the Serbian striker made it 3-1 with his second, beating Malcom’s low cross into the top corner from close range.
Then in the 72nd minute, Brazilian winger Malcolm made the save following a screamer from Nasser goalkeeper Bento. After playing a pass under pressure, Bento looked to take a touch instead of making a clearance, but his first touch was too heavy, allowing Malcolm to dribble, steal the ball and fire into an empty net.
“In the second half we showed how good we are,” said former Fulham and Newcastle United striker Mitrovic. “We had some problems in the first half and then changed in the second half. We stayed calm and it’s nice to get the trophy at the start of the season.
Hilal begin their league title defense against Al Oghdoot next Saturday, awaiting Neymar’s return from a knee ligament injury that has sidelined the Brazilian since last October. Nasser confronted Al Raed two days ago
