Ighalo misses from penalty spot as Al Hilal suffer Al Feiha defeat in King Cup of Champions

Nigeria international Odion Ighalo missed out on a trophy with Al Hilal after they suffered a 3-1 penalty shootout defeat against Al Feiha in the final of the King Cup of Champions at King Abdullah Sports City on Thursday night, following a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation time.

In the closely contested final, it was Al Hilal who scored first when Salem Al-Dawsari finished off a quick counter-attack in the 45th minute but Ramon Lopes levelled matters for Feiha in the 66th minute to take the game into extra-time and finally penalties.

The 32-year-old Ighalo stepped up to take the first penalty for Al Hilal but it was saved by goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic. Brazil midfielder Ricardo then took Feiha’s first penalty but it was also saved by Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf.

Salman Al Faraj was handed the chance to score Al Hilal's second penalty but he also hit the post. However, Brazil midfielder Ramon got it right to score the second penalty for Feiha.

Abdullah Al Hamdan then missed the third penalty for Al Hilal while Ali Al Zaqan converted for Feiha before Musab Fahz Aljuwayr finally got Al Hilal off the mark.

Panagiotis Tachtsidis then slotted home the winning penalty to hand Feiha the win.

During the game, Ighalo, who was involved in the entire contest, came close to finding the back of the net on three occasions.

First, it was in the 23rd minute when he was put through on goal by a defence-splitting pass from Mali international Moussa Marega, but after side-stepping two defenders, he came face to face with goalkeeper Stojkovic, who punched out his effort.

Ighalo’s second chance came in the 54th minute when he found himself unmarked in Feiha’s danger zone and after receiving a cross from Al-Dawsari, he hit a weak effort which did not trouble Stojkovic.

Another good chance once again fell to Ighalo in the 77th minute, when he rose the highest to glance a header from Salman Al-Faraj’s corner-kick, but he directed his effort to the woodwork with the keeper off his line.

Since moving from Al Shabab to Al Hilal, Ighalo has managed nine top-flight goals from nine appearances. The first league goal of the campaign for Ighalo, who made 11 Premier League appearances for Manchester United last season, came against Al Nassr in a 4-0 victory on February 13.

Prior to moving to Al Shabab in February 2021, Ighalo made 17 league appearances in total at Shanghai Shenhua, scoring 10 goals.