Leading 2-0 but losing 2-3 at home to Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo are facing a great risk of losing their ticket to the AFC Champions League next season.The highlight match of round 30 of the Saudi Pro League 2024/25 took place in the early morning of May 8 (Vietnam time) at Al-Awwal Park and ended in a scenario that could not be more bitter for the home team Al-Nassr. Despite taking a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Sadio Mané and Ayman Yahya, coach Luis Castro’s team lost everything in the second half, allowing Al-Ittihad to make a spectacular comeback with 3 goals from Benzema, Kanté and Aouar.

In the 2nd minute, Sadio Mané broke the deadlock with a neat finish in the penalty area, putting Al-Nassr ahead. In the 36th minute, Ayman Yahya doubled the gap after a coherent combination with Mané, giving the yellow team a big advantage.

It seemed that the perfect first 45 minutes would be the premise for Al-Nassr to accelerate in the championship race, but the second half became a “nightmare” for the team.

In the 48th minute, Karim Benzema headed the ball into the Al-Nassr goalkeeper’s net, narrowing the gap. Just 3 minutes later, N’Golo Kanté seized the opportunity to finish neatly, bringing the match back to the starting line.

The climax of the tragedy came in the 90+3 minute, when Houssem Aouar took advantage of a messy ball in the penalty area to score the winning goal 3-2 for Al-Ittihad. The entire Al-Awwal Park audience was silent in regret.

Before the match, Cristiano Ronaldo was expected to shine in the key match, but the Portuguese superstar was almost invisible for the entire 90 minutes. Without any notable shots, without any clear breakthroughs, Ronaldo left the field with a disappointed shake of his head.

With this defeat, Al-Nassr continues to stagnate in 3rd place and is 5 points behind second-placed Al-Hilal, while there are only 4 rounds left in the season. Because Al Ahly has won a ticket to the 2025 AFC Champions League thanks to the championship, there are only two direct tickets left and Al-Nassr is at a clear disadvantage.

Not only did they lose the victory and points, the reverse defeat against a direct competitor like Al-Ittihad could be the decisive turning point that makes Al-Nassr no longer have the opportunity to be present in the continental arena next season. For a star like Ronaldo – who is always hungry for titles and the Champions League – that prospect would be a shock.