orge Jesus’ Al Hilal qualified for the final of the Saudi Arabian Super Cup today by beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, who was sent off in the 86th minute, 2-1 in a match played in Abu Dhabi.
Salem Al Dawsari, in the 62nd minute, and Brazilian Malcom, in the 73rd minute, scored the goals for Jorge Jesus and Ruben Neves’ side, while Luís Castro’s Al Nassr side reduced the deficit through Senegalese Sadio Mané, in the 90th minute, with one player less.
Starting alongside fellow Portuguese international Otávio, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the 86th minute after getting involved with an opponent: with his head lost, he took his time leaving the pitch, threw his captain’s armband towards Otávio, leaving it halfway, and ironically asked the fans to applaud the referee.
The clash between the first and second-placed teams in the league, with Jorge Jesus’ side 12 points clear, featured just one emotional move in the first half, when Colombian goalkeeper Ospina made a difficult save from Al Hilal’s Al Hamdan.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Otávio scored at the far post, but Cristiano Ronaldo, in an offside position, had already tried to deflect the ball, thus invalidating the move: the strong pressure on the refereeing team was to no avail.
It was in a quick attack that Al Dawsari, after a pass from captain Milinkovic-Savic, isolated himself on the left and, with the tip of his boot, opened the scoring.
In the 73rd minute, Michael crossed from the right to the center of the box, where Malcom, unmarked, headed in the 2-0, which seemed to decide the match.
Al Nassr persisted in their search for a goal, which only came in the 90th minute, with Sadio Mané breaking clear of an opponent in the penalty area and shooting wide.
