Ronaldo’s tragic Saturday at Al-Nassr: Asian final lost, Al-Hilal close in | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo went from dreaming of a historic Saturday to ending up empty-handed in a matter of hours. What could have been a double crowning day ended in frustration for the Portuguese star, who still cannot end his title drought since arriving in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr.

The first blow came before he even stepped onto the field. Al-Hilal, his closest challenger in the league, took care of business and beat Neom Sports Club 2-0, a result that prevented CR7 from clinching the title early. What just hours earlier had looked like a comfortable finish turned into a wide-open ending: the gap was cut to two points, and everything will be decided on the final matchday.

But the day still had an even harder blow in store. With no chance left to celebrate quickly in the domestic tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo went out to play the Champions League Two final with the opportunity to lift his first trophy with the Saudi club. However, the Riyadh side failed again at the key moment and lost 1-0 to Gamba Osaka, who claimed the title.

So, in the span of just a few hours, the Portuguese star saw two real opportunities slip away: one because of other results and the other on the field. The contrast is striking for a career defined by piling up trophies—33 in total—celebrated with every shirt he has worn: Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and the Portuguese national team. However, in Arabia he still has not found glory.

Now, the focus is solely on the league. Al-Nassr will head into the final round with only a slim advantage over Al-Hilal. And this is no minor detail: if they finish level on points, the tiebreaker favors Karim Benzema’s team, since they won the first head-to-head meeting and drew the other.

The ending becomes even more unbelievable when recalling Al-Nassr’s last league match: they were beating Al-Hilal and were champions until, with 15 seconds left, their goalkeeper made a blunder and the head-to-head clash ended in a draw.

In this way, what seemed like a double coronation well on track turned into a tension-filled finish. At 41 years old, and with the World Cup on the horizon, Cristiano will have one last shot to prevent his time in Saudi football from continuing to be marked by an unexpected anomaly: the lack of titles.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.