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Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia will end without a trophy as Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Nassr to the league title in the penultimate round on Saturday. Ronaldo arrived in Riyadh in January after leaving English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United and had to settle for second place in the 16-team Saudi Arabian league. Al-Nassr's 1-1 draw with Ettifaq meant that Al-Ittihad's 3-0 win at Al-Feiha gave the team from Jeddah a five-point lead with one game remaining and it is their first league title since 2009.
Al-Nassr dominated their respective game but fell behind just before the break as Youssef Niakate scored for Ettifaq from close range. A fierce shot from ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo leveled for Al-Nassr after 56 minutes. Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 16 league games since making his debut in January. He could not get a winner this time while Gustavo's second-half strike ruled out for offside with 10 minutes remaining.
Al-Ittihad won easily thanks to two goals from Brazilian forward Romarinho as well as a third-minute strike from Ahmed Sharahili. They secured their 9th title overall. Defending champion Al-Hilal moved into third place with a 3-0 win at Abha.
"I want to thank the players and the fans for their support this season and everyone has worked very hard from the beginning," Santo said. "The early goal was very important and after we scored then we settled down."