Who won the Saudi Super Cup? Cristiano Ronaldo's trophy wait goes on as Al Ahli defeat Al Nassr on penalties

Dom Farrell

Who won the Saudi Super Cup? Cristiano Ronaldo's trophy wait goes on as Al Ahli defeat Al Nassr on penalties image

Cristiano Ronaldo suffered more final heartache as Al Ahli extended his wait for Al Nassr silverware in the Saudi Super Cup final.

Al Nassr put in a superb performance to defeat Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad in the semifinals, despite being reduced to 10 men by Sadio Mane's red card.

Al Ahli hammered Al Qadsiah 5-1 in their semifinal and the showpiece match went to the wire, with Ivan Toney and co. holding their nerve to win on penalties.

It was the second time Ronaldo has lost in the Super Cup final, further extending his wait for a trophy with his Saudi club.

MORE: How many trophies has Cristiano Ronaldo won? Complete list of titles for club and Portugal in CR7's career

Saudi Super Cup final: Al Nassr vs. Al Ahli result, goals, highlights

Ronaldo put Al Nassr ahead with 41st-minute penalty, his 100th goal for the club, having also brought up the same milestone at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Franck Kessie, who scored twice in the semifinal, levelled deep into first-half stoppage time.

Al Nassr led for the second time in the contest with just eight minutes of normal time remaining, Marcelo Brozovic curling beyond Edouard Mendy after Kessie lost possession.

But there was a sting in the tail int the 89th minute when Roger Ibanez powered home a header.

With no extra time, the game went straight to penalties. Specialists Toney and Ronaldo got their sides underway with cool conversions.

Everyone held their nerve until Mendy denied Abdullah Al-Khaibari. That gave Galeno the chance to seal the trophy for Al Ahli and he made no mistake.

Al Nassr vs Al Ahli stats

Al NassrStatAl Ahli
12Shots8
5Shots on target2
62%Possession38%
354Passes210
7Corners4
9Fouls13
3Yellow cards4
0Offsides4

Cristiano Ronaldo record in finals for Al Nassr

Saturday's defeat continues a dismal record in showpiece games for Al Nassr for Ronaldo.

Despite being one of football's most decorated players of all time, Ronaldo has now lost three finals out of three with his latest club.

Al Nassr came up short against Al Hilal in the 2023/24 Kings Cup and this game last year.

Attention now turns to whether Jorge Jesus can lead the team to glory in the new Saudi Pro League season.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.