Saudi Arabia's Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score in a 1-1 draw at Al Ettifaq Stadium in the penultimate round - a result that ended Al Nassr's chances of winning the Saudi Pro League.
*Goals: Niakate 43' - Gustavo 56'.
Al Nassr trailed Al Ittihad by three points before round 29 and were hoping to stage a comeback in the title race. They showed that determination when they rushed forward to pressure Al Ettifaq after the opening whistle. In the first 36 minutes, Ronaldo had three shots, all from outside the box, the most dangerous being a cannonball close to the near post in the 34th minute, forcing goalkeeper Paulo Victor to dive to block.
Ronaldo dribbles past Al Ettifaq's defense. Photo: Al Nassr
The visitors also created many other good chances. Abdulrahman Ghareeb dribbled and curled the ball wide of the post. At a corner kick, former Bayern midfielder Luiz Gustavo tapped the ball close to the goal and it hit the post. However, Al Nassr were unexpectedly scored against by Youssoufou Niakate at the end of the first half. The French striker seized the opportunity from a rare counter-attack by the home team.
Al Nassr's efforts helped them equalize early in the second half, thanks to Gustavo's long-range shot. However, that was all the visitors could do. In the remaining time, Al goalkeeper Ettifaq Victor played like a ghost, continuously denying Al Nassr's chances.
Victory seemed to be on the cards for Al Nassr when Gustavo put the ball into Victor's net for the second time. Initially, the referee awarded the goal to the visitors. But after checking VAR, he changed his decision because an Al Nassr player was offside. In the same match, Al Ittihad crushed Al Feiha 3-0. This result increased the gap between the top two teams to five points with only one round left, meaning that Al Ittihad will be crowned champions of the 2022-2023 Saudi Pro League.
Key developments of the match Al Ettifaq 1-1 Al Nassr.
This is the second year in a row that Ronaldo has failed to win a trophy. Last season, he failed to help Man Utd win a title on his return to Old Trafford despite scoring 24 goals in all competitions. Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January with the hope of helping the club end their title drought.
However, despite scoring 14 goals in 18 matches in all competitions, the 38-year-old striker sadly watched his team being eliminated by Al Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup semi-finals, losing to Al Wehda in the National Cup semi-finals, and finishing second in the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr had been leading the table for a long time before they stumbled and were overtaken by Al Ittihad. They were heavily criticised by fans, forcing chairman Musalli Al-Muammar - who signed Ronaldo - to resign while coach Rudi Garcia was sacked.
Quang Huy
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