Al Nassr defeated Al Khaleej by 3-1 to clinch the final's berth

Al Nassr managed to crush Al Khaleej in the semifinals of the King Cup of Champions at Al Awwal Stadium on Wednesday(01st May 2024). This match was a bit uneven and the reason was that Al Nassr dominated the match and created many opportunities. The Yellow Submarine's goals were scored by Portugese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo who scored a brace and Sadio Mane's single goal guided Al Nassr to secure the final spot and they will face their arch-rivals Al Hilal.

Al Khaleej opened the first half by playing cautiously, they tried to control the ball as long as possible. However, Al Nassr was able to push Al Khaleej and create several opportunities. In the fifth minute Ronaldo opened fire after receiving a pass from Brozovic, but the ball was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, the Yellow submarine finally succeeded in breaking through Al Khaleej's goal. Their goalkeeper got a back pass from Lisandro Lopez but was in the wrong situation and the goalkeeper tried to kick the ball out of the penalty box but the ball hit Ayman Ahmed.

The ball in the right half was chased by Ronaldo with his left foot kick, and he managed to break through Al Khaleej's goal and made it 1-0 for the Hosts. In the 25th minute, Sadio Mane had his turn to threaten Al Khaeleej's goal but the ball can still be pushed over by the goalkeeper. Just after 9 laters, Al Nassr was awarded a penalty after the Visitors' player made a handball. Mane then carried out the execution perfectly and extended the lead to 2-0.

In the second half, Al Khaleej tried to get back up, one way was to change tactics and players but this didn't work. Al Nassr managed to score another goal, this time in the 57th minute. Al Ghannam sent in a low cross from the right and the ball eventually found Ronaldo at the far post. His shot was initially blocked by the goalkeeper but the rebound returned to the Portuguese star striker made it 3-0 for the Hosts.

Al Khaleej did not give up, they were still trying to get up and make more substitutions. Their efforts finally paid off in the 82nd minute. Al Haydar released a cross from the right when Al Torais could complete the pass easily and reduced the lead to 1-3 for Al Khaleej. In the 89th minute, Laporte got a chance after welcoming Otavio's pass though his header was pushed over by the goalkeeper and hit the goalpost.

In the end, no additional goals were scored in the remainder of this match, Al Nassr pulled off a 3-1 win.

Lineup

Al Nassr: David Ospina; Sultan Al-Ghannam, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles, Otávio, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Marcelo Brozović, Ayman Yahya, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane

Coach: Luis Castro

Al Khaleej: Ibrahim Sehic; Pedro Rebocho, Lisandro López, Mohammed Al-Khabrani, Saeed Al Hamsal, Ivo Rodrigues, Jung Woo-young, Mansour Ibrahim Hamzi, Khaled Narey, Mohamed Sherif, Fabio Martins

Coach: Pedro Emanuel