Al-Hilal defeated Al-Nassr in penalty kicks, 1-1( 5-4) in the King Cup of Champions Final. It was a very well-played match in to close out the Saudi Arabian soccer season. Both teams played to win in an offensive tactical stance throughout. In the past two seasons, Al-Nassr has been at the forefront of the soccer world since they signed Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the greatest players of all time.
Ronaldo had a great season after a slow start. He finished with 35 goals in 31 league matches, averaging a little more than a goal a game at the age of 39 years which is incredible. A lot of players of his generation are no longer playing or are non-factors on their teams. Ronaldo is still the best player on his team and he continues to show he is one of the best in the world.
Al-Nassr seemed like they were a better team in the final, what went wrong?
Al-Nassr Failed to Take Lead
Sadio Mane had a clear-cut chance to give Al-Nassr early in the first half. Mane ended up near the goal with the ball and his shot sailed over the net. That was the best chance Al-Nassr had to score in the early minutes. Al-Hilal was just holding on until they finished the first chance they had to score with an Aleksandar Mitrovic header. This threw the match into an Al-Hilal getting focused on shutting down Al-Nassr’s potent offense.
Ronaldo had a great match, it seemed like he wanted to close out the season with a title. Al-Nassr is falling into the same trap that many teams that Ronaldo has played on fall into which is they are so focused on getting Ronaldo to score that they don’t work to get other players involved. Sadio Mane is one of the best goal-scorers in the world and in this match outside of the chance he had early, he was a non-factor.
Also Read: 3 Years Since Chelsea’s Special UEFA Champions League Win: How Much Has Changed?
Al-Nassr The Goalkeeper Wins or Loses the Match
This match showed how important a goalkeeper can be for a team. Al Nassr goalkeeper David Ospina made one of the biggest mistakes of his storied career when he came out on a challenge outside of the penalty box and used his hand to push the ball away. A red card was instantly given out as that is the right call in these instances. The goalkeeper may not use his hands outside of the box and it looked like Ospina didn’t realize where he was on the field on this play.
The fact that Al-Nassr had to play the match with one less player ended up not being a factor as Al-Hilal got two red cards after this. Al-Nassr finished with 10 players, Al-Hilal with 9. Al-Nassr continued a strong attack through the second half finally tying up the match with a goal from Ayman Yahya.
Both teams had chances to score in extra time but as in this case, in many of these matches, it ended up going to penalties. This is where the Ospina red card stood tall, with backup goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah having to play in the shootout. Abdullah had only appeared in one league match in the last two seasons as he is at the back end of his career and is now only a backup.
Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou proved to make the definitive save to give his team the cup win. Al-Nassr didn’t have a bad season but it was not a successful one. They didn’t win any titles which is a shock considering the roster they have. They will have to regroup and hope Ronaldo can continue his strong play, but the reality is he isn’t getting any younger.
About the Author
Mike Nelson lives and breathes sports. Ever since he was very young he has also dreamed of covering sports. Mike graduated from CSULA in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. He has been very lucky to cover sports and be on the radio for the last few years with different organizations including a stint with the LA Galaxy where he was one of the announcers for the LA Galaxy 2 team for two seasons.
Mike loves music, he hosts his radio show/podcast “The Mike Nelson Show” where he has gotten to interview the biggest names in rock and metal including Les Claypool, David Ellefson, and others.
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