Cristiano Ronaldo almost scored a lifetime goal at the Saudi National Cup final taking place early this morning, June 1.

Ronaldo had a disappointing second season at Al Nassr when they only finished second in the rankings in the Saudi Pro League. They reached the Saudi Cup final, but continued to lose bitterly.

Facing Al-Hilal, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr had to accept a 4-5 defeat in the penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 in the official 90 minutes. The match was so tense that up to 3 players were disqualified.

Al Nassr conceded early, when Mitrovic had a diving header that defeated goalkeeper Ospina in the 7th minute of the match. Ronaldo and his teammates really had to fight against being behind early to find the equalizing goal. 
1-1717202796.pngThe opportunity came right in the first seconds of the second half…. Photo: X Center Goals.
2-1717202796.jpgThe ball bounced off the post to the surprise of the players. Photo: X Center Goals.

One of those efforts includes the Portuguese superstar’s “uninverted bicycle kick” right at the beginning of the second half. When the second half had just started a few dozen seconds, Al Nassr had a chance to score a good goal. When Otavio received the ball in the penalty area from a pass from his teammate, the midfielder immediately crossed the ball deep inside. where Ronaldo is waiting. 

The 39-year-old striker threw the ball beautifully, while goalkeeper Bono could only stand still and watch. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post and bounced out to the surprise of all the fans in the stands. Ronaldo regretfully missed the opportunity to score a super goal.

Video of Ronaldo’s ‘upside down bicycle’ situation sending the ball hitting the post. Source: X LERRY

Commenting on this situation on social networks, fans all expressed disbelief that the goal had not yet come for the Portuguese star: “Ronaldo missed the Puskas award of the year, oh my god!!”, “Garnacho ah , your Puskas award is still safe. That’s crazy”, “Why did the ball hit the post, Ronaldo is so unlucky”…

Minutes later, Al Nassr continued to attack in search of a goal, but was still hopeless. The turning point occurred when in the 87th and 90th minutes of the match, two Al Hilal players had to leave the field consecutively due to receiving red cards. In the 88th minute, Yahya headed home from close range, leveling the score 1-1 and sending the match into extra time to the utter happiness of the whole team.

4-1717202796.jpgThe match took place with so many stressful situations that CR7 had to complain to the referee. Photo: Getty Images.
5-1717202796.jpgRonaldo played hard, but the goal still inexplicably “eluded” him. Photo: Getty Images.
However, both teams could not score more goals in extra time and the match had to enter a penalty shootout. Bono – the goalkeeper who shone at the 2022 World Cup in the penalty shootout against Spain in the 1/8 round on Al Hilal’s side had an excellent performance, when he saved three penalty kicks from Al Nassr, while goalkeeper Abdullah on the other side could only block one shot.
6-1717202796.jpgRonaldo collapsed on the field when he saw his teammates miss a penalty. Photo: Getty Images.
7-1717202796.JPGThe final whistle sounded, CR7 could not suppress his helpless emotions and burst into tears. Photo: Getty Images.
8-1717202796.JPGHis teammates and coaching staff came to comfort him after the defeat. Photo: Getty Images.
10-1717202796.jpgThey continued to encourage him as they stood up and left the field. Photo: Getty Images.
9-1717202796.jpgCristiano Ronaldo still cannot forget his sadness, even after he left the field. Photo: Getty Images.
Despite his impressive performance with 53 goals and 13 assists in the 2023/24 season, Ronaldo still had to sadly accept a bitter defeat, when his Al Nassr was officially defeated by Al Hilal in a penalty shootout. saved with a score of 4-5, ending a year full of efforts but not complete.