In the searing heat of a Riyadh derby, where the weight of expectation often falls heaviest on the shoulders of its most famous resident, Al Ittihad delivered a stunning blow to their rivals. On a charged night at Al-Awwal Park, the Tigers secured a gritty 2-1 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, eliminating the hosts from the King’s Cup Round of 16 in a match that was as much about tactical resilience as it was about star power.
From the outset, the script seemed written for a familiar narrative: Al Nassr, propelled by their global icon, pressing for an early lead. But it was the visitors, Al Ittihad, who authored the first decisive chapter. Against the run of play, their own veteran superstar, Karim Benzema, demonstrated the clinical edge that once defined his legendary tenure at Real Madrid. Capitalizing on a defensive lapse, the French striker coolly slotted home the opening goal, silencing the home crowd and immediately shifting the pressure onto their rivals.
The momentum swung further in Ittihad’s favor before the halftime whistle. Midfield maestro Houssem Aouar, finding pockets of space in a congested midfield, doubled the advantage with a precise finish. Facing a two-goal deficit, Al Nassr found themselves in a deepening crisis, their game plan in tatters and their path to the quarter-finals suddenly looking perilously narrow.
The drama intensified in the second half when Ittihad’s Brazilian anchor, Fabinho, received a second yellow card, reducing his side to ten men for the final half-hour. This was the lifeline Al Nassr and Ronaldo desperately needed. The pressure soon told, as defender Nawaf Buwashal powered in a header from a set-piece, setting up a grandstand finish.
What followed was a relentless siege. Al Nassr threw everything forward, with Ronaldo at the center of every attack, but they found a wall of yellow jerseys in their way. The Ittihad defense, organized and desperately heroic, blocked shots, intercepted crosses, and watched in agony as a last-gasp effort from the Portuguese star himself rattled the crossbar in the dying moments. When the final whistle blew, Ittihad’s players collapsed in exhausted celebration, while Ronaldo could only look on in visible frustration, stalking off the pitch without a word.
The loss is more than just an early cup exit for Al Nassr; it is a significant psychological blow. It extends Cristiano Ronaldo’s trophyless streak with the club to over two and a half years since his blockbuster arrival in January 2023. Despite his prolific personal goal-scoring, the team’s inability to secure silverware in crucial knockout matches like this one raises pressing questions about the project’s overall construction and resilience.
For Al Ittihad, this victory is a statement. To enter the lion’s den, withstand a second-half onslaught a man down, and slay the dragon of Saudi football, proves their credentials as genuine contenders. They advance to the quarter-finals not just on the strength of Benzema’s goals, but on the heart of a collective that refused to be broken.
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