The disappointment for Al Nassr could hardly be greater. Playing the Asian Champions League 2 final at home, the team of Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix, both starters, and coached by Jorge Jesus, lost, in Riyadh, 0-1 to Gamba Osaka, from Japan, and did not win the continental trophy.
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The Japanese team even managed to have the ball in the opening minutes, marked by some inattention from the defensive lines on both sides, but it was soon understood that the Saudis would be in charge of the game. And they did so in the first half: from Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot, which didn’t hit the ball well in the 24th minute, to CR7’s header just before half-time, to several interceptions from Mito, a Japanese central defender, to several saves from Araki, Gamba Osaka’s 18-year-old goalkeeper, to shots from Iñigo Martínez, with a header, from João Félix, from outside the box, or to Ghareeb’s shot that went just inches from the second half. post, were often the Saudi Pro League leader’s attempts.
On the other side, the Japanese team only managed one shot on goal. But that shot… was decisive. Half an hour into the game, Hummet appeared between the defenders, received it from Jebali and, in Bento’s face, opened the scoring. Totally against the flow of the game was the advantage of Gamba Osaka, who had not created any real danger either before or after the goal, but reached half-time winning.
With an advantage at the start of the second half, the Japanese team retreated and, with a full performance of effort and defensive competence, withstood one, and another, and another incursion from Al Nassr, who failed to even shoot in the first half of the second half. Miura and Nakatani, the central defenders, were decisive in intercepting several crosses into the area.
The last quarter of the match showed Al Nassr more capable of targeting Araki’s goal. João Félix was the closest to achieving the equalizer, first, in the 77th minute, with a powerful shot from outside the area that hit the post with a bang and, in the 84th minute, the Portuguese international received Al Hamdan’s backheel pass in the area but the shot was intercepted in a providential way by the right back Kishimoto.
Time passed, the usual shower arrived with central defender Simakan in the opponent’s area, but Gamba Osaka held on to the advantage until the final whistle. After 10 wins in 10 games until the final, Al Nassr fell hard in the final against their opponents, who, despite having little or no attack, showed great defensive quality. A goal for the team of Ronaldo, Félix and Jesus fell to the ground, which, next Thursday, will play against Damac, for a new title: Saudi champion.
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