Cristiano Ronaldo in tears as Al-Nassr LOSE bonkers final on penalties after three sent off including two ex-Prem stars
CRISTIANO RONALDO was left in tears after Al-Nassr suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak in the Saudi Cup final.
The superstar scored his spot-kick but was unable to prevent his side losing to Al-Hilal 5-4 on penalties.
The match ended 1-1 after extra-time, which came about thanks to an 88th minute equaliser from Al-Nassr star Ayman Yahya.
His goal came moments after Al-Hilal’s Ali Albulayhi was shown a straight red card.
That was the second dismissal of the game after former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina received his marching orders shortly before the hour mark, putting Al-Nassr down to ten men.
There was more drama to come however as Kalidou Koulibaly, who joined Al-Hilal from Chelsea last summer, was sent off in stoppage after picking up a second yellow card for a challenge on Al-Nassr’s sub goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.
Another former Premier League star, Aleksandar Mitrovic, had put Al-Hilal in front in the seventh minute.
So the match went to extra-time after a 1-1 stalemate, and penalties were needed to decided the winner.
Ex-Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves stepped up first for Al-Hilal and missed.
But Alex Telles, who also played with Ronaldo at Manchester United, did likewise to keep the scores level.
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Cristiano Ronaldo's red cards
Ronaldo picked up his 12th career red card against Al-Hilal
- Aston Villa vs MAN UTD (2004) – Yellow cards for diving and chipping goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen after the whistle had gone.
- Man City vs MAN UTD (2006) – Straight red card for a high tackle on former United legend Andy Cole, of all people.
- Portsmouth vs MAN UTD (2007) – Straight red card for headbutting midfielder Richard Hughes.
- Man City vs MAN UTD (2008) – Yellow card for a cynical foul on Shaun Wright-Phillips, second yellow for a deliberate handball.
- REAL MADRID vs Almeria (2009) – Ronaldo’s first home red card. One yellow for taking his shirt off to celebrate a goal. A second yellow for aiming a kick at midfielder Juanma Ortiz.
- REAL MADRID vs Malaga (2010) – Straight red card for a stray elbow which fractured defender Patrick Mtiliga’s nose. Ronaldo said afterwards: “If he wasn’t 5 foot 6, I might have caught him in the chest.”
- REAL MADRID vs Atletico Madrid (2013) – Ronaldo received a straight red card for a high kick in Atleti captain Gabi’s face as Real lost the Copa del Rey final 2-1 on home soil.
- Athletic Bilbao vs REAL MADRID (2014) – Straight red card for striking an opponent in the face during a skirmish before a corner.
- Cordoba vs REAL MADRID (2015) – Straight red card for kicking left-back Edimar and pushing centre-back Jose Angel Crespo
- Barcelona vs REAL MADRID (2017) – Ronaldo made it a red card in the Manchester derby, Madrid derby and El Clasico in the 2017 Spanish Super Cup. The Portugal star received yellow cards for removing his shirt to celebrate a goal at the Nou Camp and diving. He made matters worse by aiming a slight push at the referee after getting sent off.
- Valencia vs JUVENTUS (2018) – Controversial red card after defender Jeison Murillo threw himself to the ground as the pair jostled for position.
- Al-Hilal vs AL-NASSR (2024) – Little doubt about this one as Ronaldo appeared to swing his elbow twice at defender Ali Al-Bulayhi.
Mitrovic then made no mistake from 12 yards, as did Ronaldo – six more penalties were then converted before Saud Abdulhamid missed for Al-Hilal.
Incredibly, Ali Alhassan could not take advantage for Al-Nassr, and when Nasser Aldawsari made it 5-4 it was up to Meshari Al-Nemer to keep his side in the match, but he was unable to do so, much to the disappointment of Ronaldo.