Joao Felix fires 10-man Al Nassr into Saudi Super Cup final | OneFootball

Joao Felix shone for 10-man Al Nassr upon his official debut as he dragged his new side past Al Ittihad and into the Saudi Super Cup final.

The Portugal international, a high-profile summer addition to the Roshn Saudi League, got the winner on Tuesday in the first semi-final in Hong Kong as Al Nassr triumphed 2-1 against the reigning Saudi champions.

To make the victory more eye-catching, Al Nassr had played with a man down from the 23rd minute, when Sadio Mane was sent off. The Senegal forward had opened the scoring.

Still, it was first blood of this 2025-26 season to Al Nassr, with new manager Jorge Jesus handing debuts to recent recruits Felix, Inigo Martinez and Kingsley Coman.

Yet the first chance of the match fell to Karim Benzema on five minutes, when the Al Ittihad captain pounced on Al Nassr goalkeeper Bento’s misplaced pass only to drag his shot inches wide.

It proved costly when, six minutes later, Marcelo Brozovic drilled a cut-back to Mane, who volleyed home via the hands of Al Ittihad goalkeeper Hamed Al Shanqiti. In truth, the young stopper will rue not being able to push away the effort.

Then, on 16 minutes, Al Ittihad were level. Full-back Mario Mitaj’s clever through ball found Moussa Diaby, with the France winger drawing Bento off his line before pulling back for Steven Bergwijn to place into the empty net.

It felt like deja vu: Diaby finished second in last season’s RSL for assists - his debut campaign in the Kingdom - with 14.

From there, Coman volleyed over the Al Ittihad crossbar at the back post before Al Nassr were reduced to 10 men. Mane sent his studs crashing into Al Shanqiti as he reached for the ball, leaving the referee to consult VAR and promptly upgrade the yellow card to a red.

Still, Al Nassr pushed on for a goal, with Coman playing in Cristiano Ronaldo following a superb run. However, with the angle tight, the Al Nassr captain sent his shot straight at the onrushing Al Shanqiti.

The action continued into the second half, where Mohamed Simakan headed off target from Brozovic’s corner and Ronaldo blasted over Coman’s cut-back.

Just after the hour, though, Al Nassr did snatch the lead. Ronaldo raced through and squared to Felix, who placed the pass into the net. The goal was initially chalked off for offside, but VAR interjected once more and showed that Ronaldo was in fact marginally on.

The Portuguese superstar, winner of the RSL golden boot in the past two seasons, sprinted off in celebration with his jubilant teammates.

Moments later, Felix thought he’d grabbed a second of the night, but his sublime drilled shot was ruled out by VAR for a Ronaldo foul on Fabinho in the build-up. Remarkably, Felix then struck the foot of the Al Ittihad upright from an acute angle on the right.

To their immense credit, Al Nassr held on for a real statement victory, even if Bento had to be alert in injury-time to thwart substitute Saleh Al Shehri. Jesus' men will now face in Saturday’s final either Al Qadsiah or Asian champions Al Ahli, who contest the second semi-final on Wednesday.