Al-Nassr hopeful Ronaldo will return for Asian Champions League Two

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Al-Nassr hopeful Ronaldo will return for Asian Champions League Two

2026-02-09 11:51 Last Updated At：12:20

Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to win a major trophy since arriving in Saudi Arabia, and Al-Nassr will be hoping the 41-year-old Portuguese star returns to action on Wednesday to help the Riyadh club move closer to silverware.

Al-Nassr takes on Arkadag of Turkmenistan with a place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League Two on the line.

Ronaldo hasn't played any part in Al-Nassr’s most recent two games in the Saudi Pro League amid reports he was unhappy with the way the club is being funded, particularly after watching rival Al-Hilal sign Karim Benzema in last month's transfer window.

Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are all majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

In a statement, the SPL outlined that no player is bigger than the club or the league.

“The Saudi Pro League is structured around a simple principle: every club operates independently under the same rules,” the league said. “Cristiano has been fully engaged with Al-Nassr since his arrival and has played an important role in the club’s growth and ambition. But no individual — however significant — determines decisions beyond their own club.”

Despite the absence of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Al-Nassr beat reigning champion Al-Ittihad 2-0 on Friday.

Ittihad is the only one of three Saudi teams in the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite not to have secured a place in the round of 16, with two group games remaining.

Despite losing star striker Karim Benzema last week to Al-Hilal, which has a history of making high-profile signings, including Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, Ittihad will advance to the next round if it defeats Al-Gharafa of Qatar on Tuesday.

The top eight in each of the tournament’s two 12-team groups — divided geographically into East and West Asia — qualify for the second round.

Al-Hilal leads the western zone and is the only team with a perfect record of six wins from six, meaning coach Simone Inzaghi can choose to rest players. Al-Ahli, which won its first Champions League title in May, is also guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.

In the eastern zone, only Vissel Kobe has clinched qualification, but Japan will have three teams in the round of 16 if both Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Machida Zelvia win this week.

The pressure is on China’s three representatives, which occupy the bottom three positions.

Chinese champion Shanghai Port is in last place and on the verge of being ousted from the tournament. Wins for Chengdu Rongcheng and Shanghai Shenhua would keep both teams in contention.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Seahawks ride their 'Dark Side' defense to a Super Bowl title, pounding the Patriots 29-13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defense won this championship.

Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner, Kenneth Walker III ran for 135 yards and Jason Myers set a Super Bowl record by making all five of his field-goal tries.

Walker became the first running back to win the Super Bowl MVP award since Terrell Davis 28 years ago.

Uchenna Nwosu punctuated a punishing defensive performance by snagging Maye’s pass in the air after Witherspoon hit his arm and ran it back 45 yards for a pick-6.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind feeling, bro,” Witherspoon said. “You talk about a group of guys who battle every day, who believe in each other and believe in their coach, you can’t describe this group no better. It’s just a one-of-a-kind feeling. I was just so happy to battle with these guys. We went through a lot, but we believed. All of you all doubters out there who said all that other stuff, you all don’t know what’s going on in this building. We’re one of one over here.”

Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense helped Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, ahead of Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson.

“To do this with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. “So proud of our guys, our defense. I mean, I can’t say enough great things about our defense, our special teams.”

Labeled a bust, dumped by two teams and considered expendable by two others, Darnold proved his doubters wrong while helping the Seahawks go 17-3.

After leading the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season, Darnold didn’t have any in three playoff games. He wasn’t particularly sharp against a solid Patriots defense but protected the ball and made enough plays, finishing 19 of 38 for 202 yards.

“I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could have been a little bit better on offense, but I don’t care about that right now,” Darnold said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, man. I’m just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches that put in so much effort throughout the whole season.”

The Seahawks sacked Maye six times, including two apiece by Hall and Murphy. Hall’s strip-sack late in the third quarter set up a short field and Darnold connected with Barner on 16-yard scoring toss to make it 19-0.

Julian Love’s interception set up another field goal that made it 22-7 with 5:35 left.

The Patriots (17-4) punted on the first eight drives, excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.

“We had a really good year, one that I’m proud of,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “But this game wasn’t a reflection of that. We were outcoached and outplayed.”

Down 19-0, Maye and the Patriots' offense finally got going. He hit Mack Hollins over the middle in traffic for 24 yards and then lofted a perfect 35-yard TD pass to Hollins down the left side to cut the deficit to 19-7.

Tom Brady once led Bill Belichick’s Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit against Atlanta for a 34-28 overtime victory.

But Maye, who was runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race in two decades, didn’t come close. He had a chance to get it closer, but his ill-advised pass into triple coverage was picked by Love and the Patriots trailed by 15 when they got the ball back with 5:35 left.

Then came Nwosu’s touchdown, a fitting way to cap an overwhelming effort by the NFL’s stingiest defense.

“Definitely hurts. They played better than us tonight,” Maye said.

Maye’s 7-yard TD pass to Rhamondre Stevenson late in the game only made the margin smaller.

The Seahawks took a 3-0 lead on Myers’ 33-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Myers connected from 39 and 41 yards to extend the lead to 9-0 at halftime. He was good from 41 on Seattle’s first drive of the third quarter to make it 12-0.

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez made two outstanding plays to prevent potential touchdowns in the second quarter. He raced back and leaped in the air to slap away a deep pass to Rashid Shaheed that could have been a 76-yard TD.

On Seattle’s last drive in the first half, Gonzalez knocked down a pass to All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have been a 23-yard TD.

Rylie Mills pushed left guard Jared Wilson into Maye and took both of them down on one of Seattle’s sacks.

Bad Bunny headlined a visually stunning halftime performance that also featured appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist entirely in Spanish.

The Patriots failed to win the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl, which would have set an NFL record. They’re tied with the Steelers with six championships.

Vrabel, the AP NFL Coach of the Year, was aiming to become the fifth person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach and the first to do both with the same team.

The 23-year-old Maye was trying to become the youngest QB to win a Lombardi Trophy. Ben Roethlisberger still holds that mark.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL