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Ronaldo’s Saudi trophy wait drags on after Al-Nassr falls to Gamba Osaka in Asian final

By The Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo’s wait for a first major trophy in Saudi Arabia continued when Al-Nassr lost to Japan’s Gamba Osaka 1-0 in the Asian Champions League Two final on Saturday.

A first-half goal from Turkish forward Deniz Hammat helped Osaka secure Asia’s second-tier tournament despite Al-Nassr dominating possession and having more attempts on goal.

The defeat came five days after Al-Nassr was seconds away from winning the Saudi Pro League for the first time since 2019, only to concede in stoppage time and leave the title race to be decided on the final matchday on Thursday.

It was a frustrating night for the home side. Al-Nassr created multiple openings in the first half but Osaka took the lead in the 30th minute. Hammat turned and fired a low shot into the bottom corner from just inside the area. After a lengthy VAR check for offside, the goal stood.

“I am happy to score and help the team and to do my best for this club,” said Hammat, who went off injured at halftime. “I was nervous watching in the second half but the most important thing is that we won and I am proud of my teammates. Now it is time to celebrate and enjoy.”

Osaka defended in numbers and with discipline, making it difficult for Al-Nassr’s star-studded attack to create clear chances.

Ronaldo, who joined the club in December 2022, came close to equalizing just before halftime but his close-range header from a Joao Felix cross sailed wide. Felix, who signed from Chelsea in July, went even closer with 13 minutes remaining, striking the post with a low shot from outside the area.

Despite the double disappointment this week, Al-Nassr can still clinch the Saudi Pro League. It leads Al-Hilal by two points heading into the final game against Damac on Thursday.

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

Wall Street drifts to a mixed finish after Micron soars and Apple drops

By The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market meandered to a mixed finish Thursday after several artificial-intelligence stocks veered back up their roller-coaster ride, while Apple dropped after hiking prices on many of its products. The S&P 500 finished nearly unchanged with a dip of less than 0.1% after swinging between gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 71 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. Micron Technology helped lead the market after jumping 15.7%. The maker of computer memory reported much bigger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it gave a stronger growth forecast for the current quarter than Wall Street expected. That helped allay worries a bit that its stock had grown too expensive after coming into the day with a surge of 267% so far this year. Micron and AI stocks broadly have been under pressure recently because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the tremendous rallies for their stock prices. But beyond Micron, Qualcomm said late Wednesday that the acceleration of the AI era is forcing it to upgrade forecasts for its own growth in upcoming years. They’re the latest signals of the deluge of dollars heading into AI data centers and other investments.
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