Al-Ahli won the Saudi Super Cup after beating Al-Nassr 5-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw. Al-Nassr led twice: Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty after Ali Majrashi's handball, and Marcelo Brozovic scored with eight minutes remaining. Al-Ahli equalised twice: Franck Kessie struck a curling effort on the stroke of half-time, and Ibanez headed into an empty net from a missed Mahrez corner. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy made key saves during the match and stopped Abdullah Al Khaibari's penalty in the shoot-out. Al-Nassr generated higher xG (1.72 to 1.15), but defensive mistakes proved decisive.
Ah-Ahli won the Saudi Super Cup after defeating Al-Nassr 5-3 on penalties following a dramatic 2-2 draw in Saturday's final. Al-Nassr led twice in the match, with Marcelo Brozovic's effort with eight minutes to play looking to have secured the first silverware of the season. But Ibanez's 89th-minute equaliser took the tie to spot-kicks, where Al-Ahli prevailed courtesy of captain Edouard Mendy's save from Abdullah Al Khaibari.
Mendy had been involved from the outset, denying Cristiano Ronaldo twice before the Al-Nassr talisman broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after Ali Majrashi was penalised for a handball. Having been on the back foot for much of the first half, though, Al-Ahli were level on the stroke of half-time as Franck Kessie curled a brilliant effort into the bottom-right corner from just inside the box.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo leads in vain Al-Nassr created more xG than Al-Ahli, 1.72 to 1.15, but their mistakes at the back proved to be too costly. Ronaldo had been the star performer as he registered the most shots (six) and touches in the opposition box (seven), accumulating the highest individual xG with 1.07. However, Kessie finished as the Saudi Super Cup's leading scorer, adding to his two goals in the semi-final, and he was on the winning side after also netting in the shoot-out.
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