Cristiano’s hopes of adding to his already impressive list of accomplishments with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia were dashed on Monday when his team was knocked out of the King Cup by Al Wehda in a close game at home.
The last time the visitors won the title was in 1966. French striker Jean-David Beauguel’s acrobatic goal in the middle of the first half put the visitors in the final. After that, Al Wehda had to play almost the whole second half with one less player because their center back Abdullah Al-Hafith was sent back to the locker room for a second yellow card after he tackled Cristiano.
Even though Al Nassr had more players, it didn’t help much because just a few months ago, Cristiano scored all four goals in a 0–4 win over the same team. This season, Al Nassr beat Al Wehda both at home and away in the Pro League. However, José Luis Sierra’s team will move on to the final, where Al-Hilal will be waiting.
Chances were missed
The game’s only goal came in the 23rd minute from a corner. Al Nassr didn’t clear a high ball inside the box, so Beauguel was able to score with an overhead kick while his back was to the goal. Munir Mohamedi stopped a shot from Cristiano at the back post earlier in the game.
It was one of his team’s best chances of the game. After the break, things didn’t get any better. Al Wehda did not give up their lead, and there were not many shots on goal. José Luis Sierra changed his team by taking off the player who scored the goal and adding an extra defender, which made Al Nassr even more angry.
Even VAR worked against them, as the ref told the players to keep playing after reviewing three penalty calls. In the last few minutes, Cristiano swiped at a loose ball, but it just missed the top of the goal.
It’s another sad part of a season that the Portuguese forward would rather forget. After leaving Manchester United in November under a cloud, he had thought that things would get better with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. But the team was knocked out of the Super Cup in January. They are also out of the King Cup and are three points behind Al-Ittihad in the Pro League, even though they have played one more game.
Rudi Garca left “by mutual agreement” two weeks ago, so the team doesn’t have a coach right now. Dinko Jelicic is in charge as a temporary coach until a more permanent one is found.
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