Cristiano Ronaldo’s team lost 0-3 to Al Hilal, thereby continuing to rank behind their opponent in the competition for the top position of the Saudi Pro League.
In the early morning of December 2 , the encounter between Al Hilal and Al Nassr in round 15 of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) attracted great attention from fans. Before the heroic performance, Al Nassr ranked 2nd with 34 points, 4 points behind Al Hilal – the top team in the table.
Immediately after the opening whistle, host Al Hilal soon pressed Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates. In the 3rd minute, Al Hilal had the first defensive situation. However, Sultan Al-Dawsari shot over the crossbar while unmarked.
Cristiano Ronaldo was stripped of his goal in the 72nd minute.
On the other side of the front line, Al Nassr had the answer with a beautiful solo goal from Anderson Talisca, but his final shot missed the target. Before the first half ended, the away team suffered major losses in terms of force. Defender Alex Telles had to leave the field in the 37th minute due to injury.
In the second half, the balance of the match was broken. In the 64th minute, from Saud Abdulhamid’s right wing kick, midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic jumped high and headed dangerously into Al Nassr’s net, 1-0 for Al Hilal.
Nearly 10 minutes after the opening goal, superstar Ronaldo put the ball into the net with a beautiful left-foot volley. However, the former Manchester United star’s goal was not recognized because of offside. Notably, based on the image shown from the semi-automatic offside detection technology, it seemed that Ronaldo’s goal was valid but the referee did not change the decision.
Al Hilal is flying high thanks to inspiration Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Tragedy happened to Al Nassr at the end of the match. Aleksandar Mitrovic shined alone with a quick double in the 90th and 90+2 minutes, sealing a 3-0 victory for Al Hilal.
This result helps Jorge Jesus and his team continue to consolidate the top spot in the Saudi Pro League 2023/24 with 41 points, 7 points ahead of Al Nassr. This is the second match in a row CR7 failed after the 0-0 draw with Persepolis in the AFC Champions League on November 28.
