The Future Falcons narrowly lost against Juventus by a score of two goals to one in the latest round of Al Abtal Cup. The match began with a tight midfield battle for dominance of possession, with the Italians marginally getting the better of the battle for the ball. Juventus almost opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a powerful Chiesa shot that was from so far out that it almost took goalkeeper Mohamed Alkhibari by surprise. In the 22nd minute, Chiesa intercepted the ball in midfield, cleverly passed it through the defense, leaving Filippo Grosso one-on-one with the keeper and the Italian attacker successfully slotted the ball into the net.
Chiesa almost added a second goal in the 32nd minute with a strong free-kick, but Alkhibari managed to tip it wide for a corner. However, the corner resulted in another Juventus goal from a Lorenzo Georgi header. The Old Lady’s attacking play continued, but Alkhibari’s performance in goal prevented the Saudi team from conceding a third goal, the first half ending with Juventus leading two-nil.
The second half got off to a bright start for the Future Falcons. Hamed Alkhorayef almost reduced the lead in the 50th minute, but the Juventus keeper successfully blocked his shot. Both sides continued pushing on in the second half, with the Saudi team attempting to reduce the gap while Juventus aimed to secure a third goal to seal the victory. In the 93rd minute, the Future Falcons were awarded a penalty which was converted successfully by Thamer Almousa. However, there was not enough time for them to push for the equaliser, bringing the match to an end with a two-one victory for the Italian team.
