Cristiano Ronaldo is still searching for his first major title with Al-Nassr after the Saudi side suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final.
In front of nearly 26,000 supporters at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Al-Nassr entered the match as favourites to lift Asia’s second-tier club trophy, comparable to Europe’s Europa League.
However, the Japanese visitors stunned the home crowd when Deniz Hummet scored in the 30th minute. He raced onto a precise through pass from Issam Jebali and finished clinically against the flow of the game.
Gamba Osaka defended strongly throughout the second half to secure the title, becoming the first club from Japan to win the competition while also denying Al-Nassr the chance to become the first Saudi Arabian champions.
The defeat added to Ronaldo’s recent frustrations, coming only four days after goalkeeper Bento’s stoppage-time own goal allowed league rivals Al-Hilal to rescue a 1-1 draw and stay within two points of Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League title race.
Despite the disappointment, Al-Nassr can still clinch their 11th Saudi league crown — and their first since 2019 — if they defeat Damac FC at home on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Al-Hilal, who have won the league 21 times, will face Al-Fayha in their final match at the same time.
“We failed to achieve our goal tonight, but we still have another decisive match ahead of us in the league, which means a lot,” said Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus.
“We now have five days to recover and focus again. There’s no time to dwell on this result — we must move forward quickly.”
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