{"id":12503,"date":"2023-01-27T13:57:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T13:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/sancho-could-return-from-man-utd-exile-to-face-reading\/"},"modified":"2023-01-27T13:57:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T13:57:15","slug":"sancho-could-return-from-man-utd-exile-to-face-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=12503","title":{"rendered":"Sancho could return from Man Utd exile to face Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>Disappointment for captain Ronaldo as Al-Nassr lose 3-1 to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Super Cup semi<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\nCristiano Ronaldo will have to wait a while to lift his first Saudi silverware, after Al-Nassr fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Al-Ittihad in their Saudi Super Cup semi-final on Thursday. The victors will meet Al-Feiha, who recorded a surprise 1-0 victory over Al-Hilal earlier in the day, in the final on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\nRonaldo, who was handed the captain\u2019s armband for his second game with the league leaders, could have no complaints about the result. Al-Ittihad scored twice during an impressive first-half performance, and Nuno Santo\u2019s side managed to hold on fairly comfortably after Anderson Talisca pulled one back for Al-Nassr midway through the second half.<\/p>\n<p>\nAl-Ittihad took the lead after 15 minutes with almost their first attack of the game. Abdulrahman Al-Aboud exchanged passes with Abderrazak Hamdallah on the left side and then delivered a perfect low cross that Romarinho slotted home past goalkeeper Agustin Rossi, on loan from Boca Juniors and making his debut as a stand-in for the injured David Ospina.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center\">\n<figure class=\"image\" style=\"display:inline-block\">\n<figcaption>\nRomarinho celebrates scoring his team\u2019s first goal. (@ittihad)\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThe Tigers visibly grew in confidence following the goal and looked like adding to their lead as they cut through the Al-Nassr back line time and time again. The Riyadh side struggled to bring Ronaldo into the game but then, just before the half-time, it looked as if the former Real Madrid star would open his Al-Nassr account.<\/p>\n<p>\nA cross from the right found the skipper in the area and though he climbed high above the Al-Ittihad defense, his header from close range was straight at goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe.<\/p>\n<p>\nSeconds later, Al-Ittihad extended their lead. Pity Martinez was robbed of possession on the right side and Romarinho broke free to float a perfect cross to the far side of the area. Hamdallah sent an equally perfect header back the way the ball had come and into the corner of the net.<\/p>\n<p>\nAl-Nassr improved in the second half but still struggled to create clear chances. Ronaldo came close after 65 minutes but the five-time Ballon D\u2019or winner sent his free-kick from just outside the left corner of the penalty area narrowly over the bar.<\/p>\n<p>\nShortly thereafter, Talisca put the Riyadh side back in the game as he fired home Luiz Gustavo\u2019s low cross from the left. The Al-Nassr onslaught that might have been expected following the goal never really materialized, however, and Al-Ittihad sealed their place in the final in injury time thanks to a breakaway goal from Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti.<\/p>\n<p>\nIn May Al-Hilal lost the King\u2019s Cup final to Al-Feiha after a penalty shootout. In Thursday\u2019s game they did not even get that close.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe only goal of the game came after 21 minutes. Victor Ruiz had the ball in the middle of the Al-Hilal half and his perfect reverse through-pass split three defenders allowing Paulinho to run into the area, where the Brazilian calmly placed the ball to the left of goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center\">\n<figure class=\"image\" style=\"display:inline-block\">\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/sites\/default\/files\/userimages\/3523591\/ieha.jpg\" width=\"1037\"\/><figcaption>\nPaulinho celebrates the winning goal against Al-Hilal.\u00a0\u00a0(@Alfaihaclub)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nJust four minutes later, Al-Hilal were handed a perfect chance to get back on level terms. Abdullah Al-Hamdan, given a rare start by coach Ramon Diaz, dribbled into the right corner of the penalty area, where he was tripped by Ricardo Ryller. Up stepped Salem Al-Dawsari but he slammed his shot against the base of the left-hand post, though goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, who did so much to help his team to victory in the King\u2019s Cup, seemed to suggest he got a hand to it.<\/p>\n<p>\nAl-Hilal had perhaps an even better opportunity immediately after the restart but, with the goal at his mercy, Al-Hamdan lifted the ball over from the edge of the six-yard box. Shortly after, the unmarked Saleh Al-Shehri headed wide from a good position. The blue wave continued to push forward but to no avail.<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cLosing and saying goodbye to our chances of winning the Saudi Super Cup is painful,\u201d said Al-Hilal striker Moussa Marega. \u201cWe must learn from the defeat and put it right in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\nAl-Feiha now have a chance to claim their second major silverware, while Al-Hilal must quickly shift their focus to another knockout tournament; the Asian champions will kick off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign against African title-holders Wydad AC of Morocco on Feb. 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/node\/2240076\/football\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disappointment for captain Ronaldo as Al-Nassr lose 3-1 to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Super Cup semi Cristiano&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - 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