Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr were knocked out of the Kings Cup in the last 16 after a 2-1 defeat by rivals Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid striker partner Karim Benzema opened the scoring for the visitors before the Portuguese star set up Angelo to equalise, but Houssam Aouar scored what proved to be the winner just before half-time.
Al-Nassr vs Al-Ittihad as it happened
The visitors struck first in the 15th minute when Benzema produced a cool from the centre of the box, guiding a left-footed effort into the bottom corner after being picked out by Moussa Diaby on a quick counter.
Al-Nassr tried to respond but struggled to break down a compact Al-Ittihad defence, with Ronaldo seeing a long-range strike saved by Predrag Rajkovic.
The hosts eventually levelled the match on the half-hour mark through Angelo, who capitalised on a rapid counter attack, cutting into the box and firing a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner to make it 1-1.
That goal seemed to spark Al-Nassr into life, and they enjoyed a strong spell with Kingsley Coman and Ayman Yahya both going close, but neither producing an effort worthy of giving their side the lead.
The first half was heated, as to be expected in a derby. It produced four yellow cards, with Fabinho being booked early for a rash tackle, followed by Abdullah Alkhaibari, Mohamed Simakan, and Aouar later on after a scuffle involving several players.
Just when it seemed the sides would go in level, Al-Ittihad struck again in added time. Mario Mitaj threaded a clever through ball into the path of Aouar, who timed his run perfectly and slotted past Bento to restore the visitors’ lead.
Ronaldo looked to get Al-Nassr back in the game shortly after the break, racing down the left flank before his cross into the box was not properly collected by the Al-Ittihad goalkeeper. It left Kingsley Coman with a great chance to score, but the forward fluffed his lines.
The momentum looked set to swing towards the hosts when just four minutes into the second half, Al-Ittihad right-back Ahmed Al Julaydan was shown a straight red after a dangerous jump into Aiman Yahya when the pair went up for a 50-50.
Ronaldo, buoyed by the man advantage, later broke clean through on goal, with the Portuguese star attempting to scoop the ball over the Al-Ittihad keeper but was unable to do so. Replays suggested he might have been offside.
Al-Nassr continued to push for an equaliser but those hopes were shattered in added time when Coman was once again presented with a chance to find the net, only for the former Bayern Munich star to shoot well over the bar.
