Cristiano Ronaldo has seen another chance of a trophy in Saudi Arabia vanish after Al Nassr were stunned by Gamba Osaka in the final of the AFC Champions League Two.
The Japanese side took the trophy after a first-half goal by Deniz Hummet was enough to give them a 1-0 win in Riyadh.
The most celebrated player ever to play in Middle East football has yet to win a significant trophy, three-and-a-half years after arriving arrived in Saudi Arabia.
It appeared certain Ronaldo was going to break that duck this week – potentially with two trophies to celebrate.
After his side were denied the Saudi Pro League title by an extraordinary late gaffe by their goalkeeper, Bento, in the Riyadh derby against Al Hilal on Tuesday, they at least had the fall back of this cup final.
They started the game against the Japanese side in the finale of Asia’s second tier club competition substantially favoured, and yet they were still unable to carry off the title.
The identity of the scorer of the lone goal in the final was a clue to the massive disparity in resources of the two sides.
Hummet was one of just two overseas players in the Gamba starting XI. He was born in Sweden, where he has played out the majority of his career, other than brief spells in France, Turkey and now Japan.
He represented Turkey at age-group level, yet has never played senior international football.
By contrast, Nassr’s line up is saturated with celebrated overseas stars, chief among them Ronaldo. Joao Felix also started, Kingsley Coman came off the bench, while likes of Inigo Martinez and Mohamed Simakan also featured.
And yet the stars of Nassr were not able to overcome their visitors. Ronaldo was himself guilty of missing a clear chance when he headed wide from a Felix free kick.
The fact they were unable to redress the balance of the Hummet goal means they now face the possibility of missing out on a trophy again this season – even if they do lead the league with a game left.
After the final had already kicked off at Al Awwal Park, it was confirmed that the SPL will go to the last round of matches.
Nassr fans had been watching the Hilal fixture on the TVs of the concession stands behind the stands at the stadium, knowing that they could be celebrating the title without playing.
Hilal needed to beat Neom to keep alive their chances of overhauling their Riyadh rivals at the top of the table.
A ninth-minute penalty by Ruben Neves settled Hilal’s nerves, and then Sultan Mandash, who was deputising for injured captain Salem Al Dawsari, clinched the 2-0 win in the second half.
Nassr’s fate remains in their own hands. If they beat Damac at home on Thursday they will be crowned champions.
A draw would not be good enough, if Hilal beat Al Fayha in their final match, which will be played simultaneously.
That would see Nassr and Hilal tie on points at the top of the table. Hilal would take the title on the strength of a superior head-to-head record in the two matches they played against each other in the SPL.
