Cristiano Ronaldo eyeing Saudi Super Cup glory: Al Hilal vs Al Nassr live score, result, updates, highlights, lineups
Cristiano Ronaldo has silverware in his sights when Al Nassr take on rivals Al Hilal in the semifinals of the Saudi Super Cup.
Al Hilal are on the cusp of securing the Saudi Pro League title as they hold a 12-point lead over Al Nassr with seven matches to play.
As such, Ronaldo and co. will be keen to hit back with success in this round-robin competition that is being staged in Abu Dhabi.
The winners of this game will face whoever prevails from the semi between Al Ittihad and Al Wehda in Thursday’s final.
The Sporting News is following Al Hilal vs. Al Nassr live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
MORE: Where to watch Al Nassr vs Al Hilal live stream, TV channel, lineups, prediction for Saudi Super Cup match
Al Hilal vs Al Nassr live score
Halftime
Goalscorers
Al Hilal
0
Al Nassr
0
Lineups:
Al Hilal (4-2-3-1, right to left): 37. Yassine Bonou (GK) — 66. Saud Abdulhamid, 3. Kalidou Koulibaly, 5. Ali Albulayhi, 12. Yasir Alshahrani — 22. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 8. Ruben Neves — 96. Michael, 77. Malcom, 29. Salem Aldawsari — 14. Abdullah Alhamdan.
Al Nassr (3-4-3, right to left): 26. David Ospina (GK) — 78. Ali Lajami, 4. Mohammed Al Fatil, 27. Aymeric Laporte — 2. Sultan Al-Ghannam, 77. Marcelo Brozovic, 17. Abdullah Alkhaibari, 15. Alex Telles. — 25. Otavio, 7. Cristiano Ronaldo, 10. Sadio Mane.
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Al Hilal vs Al Nassr live updates, highlights, and commentary
58th minute: That miss seems to have sharpened Al Hilal’s minds. They’re enjoying their best spell of the contest and look an awful lot like the team that took Al Nassr apart 3-0 earlier in the season.
49th minute: HUGE CHANCE FOR AL HILAL! Alhamdan heads over unmarked from six yards out. A fit Aleksandar Mitrovic might have scored that in his sleep.
46th minute: We’re back underway. Ronaldo became the third player booked this evening for taking his protestations a little too far over that disallowed goal. When the team came back out, he was still rattling away. I’m sure the referee was delighted.
Halftime: That’s more or less the last act of the half. Roanldo is right up to the referee and is furious. This looks like it might boil over here, with members of the Al Nassr coaching staff also confronting the officials.
45th minute+5: Goal disallowed! Otavio is furious but he might want to direct his ire towards Ronaldo.
45th minute+3: Al Nassr have the ball in the net but the flag is up. Ronaldo attacked Mane’s cross from the right. He missed the ball, definitely tried to play it though. He was offside. Otavio dispatches unfussily at the far post.
37th minute: Ohhh, Malcom has to do better there. Neves’s lofted pass turns the Al Nassr defence around. Telles takes impressive evasive action but his clearance falls nicely for Malcom but the Brazilian lashes wide.
35th minute: Milinkovic-Savic catches Otavio with a flailing arm and is booked. He complaints to the referee that it was an accident and made to look worse by the Al Nassr attacker being on the diminutive side. We’re not doing tact, apparently.
31st minute: More familiar sights as Al Nassr scramble their way out of trouble from a long throw to launch another break. Mane carries the ball down the right but checks back when faced with Koulibaly, lacking support. We’re going to have a break for drinks.
28th minute: Very much a back-five out of possession for Al Nassr, who are sticking to the plan and breaking well. Otavio now, storming through midfield and Al Hilal Aldawsari scythes him down to earn a yellow card.
25th minute: Ronaldo tries his luck from distance but it’s not his best effort and it dribbles harmlessly wide.
24th minute: Mane looks to get away down the right but takes a heavy touch, That’s all the invitation Koulibaly needs to launch into a sliding tackle that deals with ball, man and whatever else you like.
21st minute: Brozovic slips a pass through to Ronaldo, whose left-footed shot is blocked at the near post by Bono before the linesman sticks his flag up. Once again. that was tight.
20th minute: Koulibaly reintroduces himself to Ronaldo, who enjoyed a few memorable jousts against during their Serie A days, by booting the forward on the ankle.
14th minute: Outstanding save from Ospina! Al Nassr don’t deal with a long throw. Michael unleashes a snapshot and Ospina, who was going the wrong way, springs to his right to tip around the post. The former Arsenal man has had a slightly ponderous start but that was a top-class piece of goalkeeping.
13th minute: Alhamdan into the Al Nassr box. Ospina forces him wide and the attack fizzles out.
11th minute: Neves launches one of his dreamy crossfield balls to Malcom. He skips into the Al Nassr box but the defence holds firm. Brozovic, Mane and Ronaldo are all involved in the counter-attack that comes in response but the offside flag goes up.
7th minute: First opening for Ronaldo as he chases what looks like a lost cause and darts beyond Albulayhi. The angle is against him, however, and he drags his shot across goal.
3rd minute: It’s been a confident start from Al Hilal and Alshahrani tries his luck from outside the box. Ospina saves, not entirely convincingly, and Malcom puts the rebound into orbit.
1st minute: We’re underway. Al Nassr boss Luis Castro has indeed gone with a back three.
4 mins before kickoff: Here come the teams, out to a pretty lively atmosphere and the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium.
15 mins before kickoff: Not long until we get underway and Al Ittihad are the team lying in wait in Sunday’s final. They held on to beat Al Wehda 2-1.
50 mins before kickoff: Ronaldo and Mane start as expected for Al Nassr. The surprise comes with what looks like a switch to 3-4-3.
🗒 || Starting lineup,@AlNassrFC vs #Alhilal pic.twitter.com/qUPjgLeVi9
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) April 8, 2024
1 hour before kickoff: Here’s how Al Hilal will line up tonight. Top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic remains sidelined due to a hamstring problem.
📋 Our squad for Diriyah Saudi Super Cup semifinal ⚽️
Good Luck 👍🏻#AlHilal 💙 pic.twitter.com/3MuffxBecN
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) April 8, 2024
1 hr 10 mins before kickoff: The Saudi Super Cup used to follow the traditional format of league winners facing domestic cup winners. Last season it expanded to a four-team format and the winner out of Al Nassr and Al Hilal will face the winner of the match between reigning Pro League champions Al Ittihad and 2022/23 King Cup runners-up Al Wehda. Al Ittihad are currently 2-0 up, thanks in part to a first-minute goal from Karim Benzema.
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the Saudi Super Cup showdown between Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The wait is over 🔥
AlNassr faces Alhilal ⚔️
In the Semi Final of Diriyah Saudi Super Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qjLUpJxv3Y
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) April 8, 2024
Al Hilal vs Al Nassr kick off time
This Saudi Super Cup semifinal match at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium kicks off on Monday, April 8 at 10:30 p.m. local time in Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
Date
Kickoff time
USA
Mon, Apr. 8
3:30 p.m. ET
Canada
Mon, Apr. 8
3:30 p.m. ET
UK
Mon, Apr. 8
8:30 p.m. BST
Australia
Tue, Apr. 9
5:30 a.m. AEST
India
Tue, Apr. 9
1:00 a.m. IST
Al Hilal vs Al Nassr lineups, team news
Ronaldo was rested from the start of Al Nassr’s late 1-0 league win over Damac with the veteran Portuguese international making a second-half appearance off the bench.
He rotates back in alongside Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio.
Al Nassr (3-4-3, right to left): Ospina (GK) — Lajami, Fatil, Laporte — Al-Ghannam, Brozovic, Alkhaibari, Telles. — Otavio, Ronaldo, Mane.
Al Nassr subs (9): Raghed (GK), Qassem, Boushal, Awad, Al Hasan, Alsulaihem, Ghareeb, Alewa, Al Nemer
Al Hilal stormed to a 4-1 win over Al Khaleej in their last league outing and Jorge Jesus has no fresh injury issues to deal with ahead of facing Ronaldo and Co.
Al Hilal (4-2-3-1, right to left): Bono (GK) — Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Al Bulaihi, Alshahrani — Milinkovic-Savic, Neves — Michael, Malcom, Aldawsari — Alhamdan.
Al Hilal subs (9): Alowais (GK), Tambakti, Nasser, Alburayk, Salman, Lodi, Kanno, Al Qahtani, Shehri.
Al Hilal vs Al Nassr live stream, TV channel
Here’s where you can find the match in some selected major markets:
TV channel
Streaming
USA
Fox Sports 2, FOX Deportes
Fubo, FOX Sports app/website
Australia
—
10 Play
Canada
—
DAZN
UK
—
DAZN
India
—
JioTV, Sony LIV
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