Ronaldo And Al-Nassr Fail To Secure AFC Champions League Qualification After Late Defeat

Add as a preferred source on Google

Al-Nassr's hopes of qualifying for the AFC Champions League Elite were dashed after a dramatic 96th-minute goal by Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League. Despite taking the lead twice through Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, Al-Nassr could not secure the win needed to surpass Al-Hilal. Their chances had been revived when they were awarded points from a previous match due to an opponent's ineligible player.

Even if Al-Nassr had won, it wouldn't have been enough to overtake Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal secured their runner-up position with a 2-0 victory over Al-Qadsiah, thanks to goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 25th minute, while Milinkovic-Savic added another in the second half. This left Al-Hilal five points clear of Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo opened the scoring for Al-Nassr with a header in the 42nd minute. However, Matias Vargas equalised for Al Fateh just before halftime. Mane then put Al-Nassr ahead again in the 75th minute, but Mourad Batna's free-kick levelled things up once more. In stoppage time, Matheus Machado scored after his initial shot was blocked.

Champions Al-Ittihad ended their season with a narrow 1-0 win against Damac, courtesy of Steven Bergwijn's goal in the 72nd minute. Meanwhile, reigning AFC Champions League Elite champions Al-Ahli finished fifth after defeating Al-Riyadh 1-0 with Ivan Toney scoring his 23rd league goal from a penalty.

At the bottom of the table, Al-Okhdood avoided relegation with a last-minute penalty by Mohammed Naif Saleh Al Jahif against their opponents. Conversely, Al-Wehda faced relegation following a 2-1 loss to Al-Ettifaq, who clinched victory with Vitinho's late winner.

Despite missing out on team success, Ronaldo claimed personal glory by winning the Golden Boot with 25 goals this season. This achievement follows his previous season's tally of 35 goals when he also won this accolade. However, speculation surrounds Ronaldo's future at the club amid rumours of a potential transfer linked to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s comments about his participation in the upcoming Club World Cup.

Al-Nassr ended their campaign without achieving their goal of qualifying for continental competition. The team finished third behind both champions and runners-up despite having moments of promise throughout the season.