After Al Nassr defeated his team in the King’s Cup final, Cristiano Ronaldo was devastated.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the football legend, was left completely broken when his Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr lost the King’s Cup final on Friday to rivals Al-Hilal.
Ronaldo’s exquisite bicycle kick struck the post in the fiercely contested match, sending it into penalties when the score in regulation time remained 1-1.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was distraught and upset when Al-Hilal won 5–4 on penalties after there was no way to pick a winner during extra time.
His feelings demonstrated that, for him, the Saudi Arabian experience was much more than just a “retirement league or competition,” despite what other players would see.
Ronaldo collapsed to the ground in despair when Al Nassr lost the game on penalties, despite efforts by teammates and coaching staff to cheer him up. He sat on the bench with the runners-up medal around his neck, accompanied off-field by officials and teammates.
Aleksander Mitrovic, a forward from Serbia, gave Al Hilal the lead in the seventh minute, but Ayman Yahya of Al Nassr tied the score late in the 88th. Since goalkeeper David Ospina was sent off in the 56th minute, Ronaldo’s team has found it difficult to get an equalizer.
Al Nassr continued to put pressure on Al Hilal following Ospina’s dismissal. The referee sent off Al Hilal’s centre-backs, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ali Al-Bulaihi, just prior to the ninety-minute mark.
The fact that custodian Yassine Bonou’s heroics kept the scores tied the entire extra time provided Al-Nassr the opportunity to find a winner.
Even though they were without their lucky striker, Al-Nassr still managed to win the cup thanks to Bonou’s heroics in the shootout, where he saved the last two penalties from Ronaldo’s team.
