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Al Ahli deny Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr first Saudi trophy in shootout loss

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s wait for a first trophy with Al-Nassr continues after the Riyadh giants suffered a painful defeat to Al-Ahli on penalties in Saturday’s Saudi Super Cup final.

This is despite the Portuguese star opening the scoring in regulation time.

The clash, staged in Hong Kong as part of the Kingdom’s global sporting expansion, ended 2–2 after 90 minutes before Al-Ahli held their nerve in the shootout to lift the trophy.

Ronaldo struck in the 40th minute, calmly dispatching a penalty after Al-Ahli defender Ali Majrashi was judged to have handled inside the box.

His finish sent the packed stadium into raptures and looked set to provide the 39-year-old with a long-awaited piece of silverware in Saudi football.

But Al-Ahli, buoyed by their star-studded lineup, hit back swiftly.

Former Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessié restored parity with a crisp strike, punishing slack defending and shifting the momentum back towards the Jeddah side.

The second half delivered even more drama.

Marcelo Brozović seized on a loose ball to put Al-Nassr back in front, only for Al-Ahli through Ibanez to level again in the dying moments and drag the contest to penalties.

The shootout proved decisive.

Al-Ahli’s composure contrasted sharply with Al-Nassr’s missed spot-kicks, sealing a famous victory and condemning Ronaldo and his teammates to yet another final disappointment.

The club lost 5-3 on penalties with both scoring their first three each. Ronaldo, Brozovic and Felix took the kick in that order for Al-Nassr.

While Al Ahli scored the fourth, Al-Nassri missed and converting the last gave the former the victory.

This was Al-Nassr’s sixth appearance in the final—the joint most appearances in the competition—while it was only Al-Ahli’s second.

The defeat means Ronaldo has now lost all three finals since joining Al-Nassr — the 2023 Saudi Super Cup, the 2023 King’s Cup, and now the 2025 edition of the Super Cup.

For a player with one of the most glittering careers in football history, the wait for silverware in Saudi Arabia is proving unusually elusive, PUNCH Online reports.

His only trophy so far is the Arab Club Champions Cup (2023)—not deemed an official title by FIFA.

For Ronaldo and Al-Nassr, the heartbreak in Hong Kong is yet another reminder that their journey to domestic dominance remains unfinished — and that even one of football’s greatest winners cannot escape the cruelty of finals.

 

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Man Utd cruise to third EPL straight win

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Bryan Mbeumo scored twice as Manchester United survived a late scare against Brighton to claim a third successive Premier League win for the first time since February 2024, moving them up to fourth on the EPL table.
United were cruising after an hour, thanks to goals from Matheus Cunha, who broke his 16-match scoring drought by netting for the first time for his new club, Casemiro’s deflected effort, and Mbeumo’s neat finish.
But Danny Welbeck’s brilliant free-kick pulled one back against his old club with 16 minutes left. Then, two minutes into the seven added, Charalampos Kostoulas flicked home a near-post header.
A later effort from Mbeumo, drilled into the roof of the net from 12 yards, put the match completely to rest, securing the maximum three points for Manchester United.

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Manchester United’s Patrick Dorgu explains his Nigerian name

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Manchester United and Denmark full-back Patrick Dorgu has revealed the meaning of his Nigerian name and why it holds significant meaning for him.
The 20-year-old was Ruben Amorim’s first signing since he took over the coaching reins at Old Trafford in November 2024.
Although he achieved a lifelong dream by joining the three-time UEFA Champions League winners, Dorgu hasn’t had it easy in United, as he’s constantly come under scrutiny for his indecisiveness in the final third during games.
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Nigerian parents, the former Lecce man has maintained his Nigerian roots, despite choosing to play for the Danish Dynamites internationally.
After joining Manchester United, he made an important request to officially acknowledge his Nigerian heritage by incorporating his middle name, Chinazaekpere, into his details.
Recently, in a local church, the blistering full-back discussed his beliefs and shared the meaning of his Igbo name, a sect of Nigerians located in the south-eastern part of the country.
“Chinazaekpere means ‘God answers prayers. That’s what my parents gave to me when I was born,” the former Nordsjælland FC man said in quotes revealed by Manchester United’s official website.
“Religion means a lot to me; it’s always been a big part of my life and my family’s.
“I’ve always been praying since I was young, and I keep praying.
“Family and the community are what I’ve grown up with in Denmark, so it’s good to try and maintain it here [Manchester] too.
“I come to pray at this church on Sunday if I have the time and we don’t have a game; I try to be here as much as I can,” Dorgu continued.
Quizzed if his prayers give him and his teammates an edge whenever they play against their opponents, the 1.85m tall defender said:
“I don’t know if it [religion] has an advantage [on the pitch]. It’s about always believing, believing that God has a plan for me, and for my career.
“United is a massive club, I knew it would be a great opportunity, and I always think that God has a plan for everything.
“The fact that United were the only team in for me in January meant, for me, it has to be here.
“I’ve had ups and downs. It’s just about always believing in myself and believing that I can always get better by getting top moments on the pitch.
“It’s about learning from my mistakes. It’s about me always giving my best and giving the best side of me,” Dorgu concluded.
Since Ruben Amorim took over the coaching reins from Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United, the Red Devils have yet to win consecutive Premier League games.

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Arsenal’s ‘scary show of strength’ as Madueke shines

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Arsenal came into this season on the back of a busy summer transfer window where they spent around £250m and brought in eight players to propel another push for the Premier League title.
As they swept aside Nottingham Forest 3-0 with five of those new signings starting, the Gunners showed why such aggressive recruitment was justified.
Mikel Arteta’s side were without key trio Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and William Saliba through injury, while skipper Martin Odegaard limped off in only the 18th minute.
But it mattered little as Arsenal showed their strength in depth to cruise to an impressive success.
Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi were their statement signings and likely to start regardless of the opposition.
But with Declan Rice named as a substitute, manager Arteta has ripped up his tier system for this campaign, where he had a number of players who were guaranteed starters and expected to play most of the games.
And despite their injury troubles, Arsenal have won three of their first four league games and are yet to concede a goal from open play.

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