Al-Ittihad keep King's Cup defence alive with narrow win at Ronaldo's Al-Nassr

Holders Al-Ittihad dumped Al-Nassr out of the King's Cup in a meeting of two Saudi Arabian heavyweights, while Al-Hilal progressed to the quarter-finals unscathed on Tuesday.

Sergio Conceicao's Al-Ittihad played over 40 minutes of the second half with 10 men after Ahmed Al Julaydan was sent off for a foul on Aiman Yahya.

By that point, Karim Benzema's 15th-minute opener had already been cancelled out by Al-Nassr's Angelo, only for Houssem Aouar to edge Al-Ittihad ahead before the interval.

An Al-Nassr attack of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman were unable to drag their side back level, as Conceicao's side escaped Al-Awwal Park with a 2-1 victory.

Al-Hilal were also forced to sweat over their progression, battling it out for a 1-0 win away to Al-Okhdood.

The win keeps Simone Inzaghi's side in the hunt for a record-extending 10th title, having last beaten Al-Nassr, who have not lifted this trophy in 35 years, in the 2024 final.

Data Debrief: Al-Ittihad's smash and grab

Al-Ittihad only attempted six shots, with three of those on target and two finding the back of the net, in stark comparison to Al-Nassr's 22 efforts.

Jorge Jesus' side only managed to force four saves from Predrag Rajkovic, however, as they narrowly edged the xG with 1.01 to their opponents' 0.97.

But it was Conceicao's visitors who prevailed despite seeing just over 30% of possession, with their backs against the wall after playing most of the second half with 10 men.