Al Nassr throw away title chance in brutal blow for Cristiano Ronaldo

They had it in their grasp for most of the match. The title looked wrapped up, and Cristiano Ronaldo was closer than ever to celebrating a league championship with Al Nassr. But in a game where Jorge Jesus’ side gave everything, Bento produced a shocking error that led to a late equalizer. The draw leaves Cristiano on the verge of the title, but with an awful taste in his mouth.

Win would be enough for Ronaldo

The first half began with suffocating pressure from Al Nassr. The home side knew how important it was to score first. But as the minutes passed, Simone Inzaghi’s team started to control possession and impose its style. Theo Hernández down the left and Malcom from the right launched wave after wave of crosses into the box.

Karim Benzema thought he had opened the scoring with a header from a Sergej Milinković-Savić cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside against the Serbian midfielder. Minutes later, Ronaldo also had a clear chance wiped away for offside.

Al Hilal remained aggressive and positive until the hydration break. Jorge Jesus gave instructions from the sideline and appeared to find the solution for the closing stages of the first half. The breakthrough could have come from any of Sadio Mané’s runs down the left flank, but ultimately set pieces became Al Nassr’s best weapon.

João Félix delivered a cross that found Iñigo Martínez, whose headed pass dropped perfectly for Mohamed Simakan to score from close range and make it 1-0. The stadium erupted. Ronaldo was edging closer to the league title. Deep into stoppage time, Kingsley Coman nearly doubled the lead from outside the box, but his shot crashed against Bono’s left post.

Ronaldo looks for the second

Al Nassr threw everything forward after the break. They came out flying and created two clear chances through Ronaldo and João Félix. The Portuguese duo, as they have all season, caused chaos in attack. Both were outstanding going forward. Mané also stood out, tormenting Altambakti down the right side.

Al Hilal’s response did not come until the 70th minute, after Inzaghi made a triple substitution that included removing two of his biggest stars: Benzema and Salem Al-Dawsari, neither of whom rose to the occasion. The fresh legs changed the game, and the visitors began causing serious problems for Al Nassr.

A dangerous run from Marcos Leonardo was a warning that Al Hilal had not given up. The home side held firm, helped by João Félix’s ability to slow the game down whenever the ball reached his feet.

Bento’s disaster

The match was dying and the fans were already celebrating the title when Al Hilal won one final throw-in. Bento came out to claim the ball, only for it to slip through his hands and into the net.

Jorge Jesus could not believe it. Ronaldo stared blankly into the distance. And there was no time left.

It hurts when the title is that close and slips away because of your own mistake. Still, the situation remains favorable for Al Nassr in the title race. But for now, the championship will have to wait at least one more week.

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