Al-Ain Beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr 4-0 in Asian Champions League
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
Al-Nassr endured a difficult start to their AFC Champions League Elite campaign after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat against Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr teammates struggled to contain Al-Ain, with the home side producing a dominant performance at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
Houssine Rahimi was the standout performer, scoring twice to put Al-Ain firmly in control. His elder brother, Soufiane Rahimi, then added a third goal before Giorgos Giakoumakis completed the scoring late in the match.
Houssine Rahimi Puts Al-Ain Ahead
Al-Ain opened the scoring in the 25th minute after Houssine Rahimi capitalized on an underhit back-pass from Saad Al-Nasser.
Rahimi raced onto the loose ball and calmly finished between goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi’s legs to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
The forward doubled Al-Ain’s lead in the 63rd minute, side-footing the ball into the net from close range after finding space inside the penalty area.
Rahimi Brothers Complete Al-Nassr’s Problems
Al-Ain extended their advantage when Soufiane Rahimi made a well-timed run onto Alejandro Romero’s through ball.
The forward stayed onside before sending a first-time shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
Giakoumakis added Al-Ain’s fourth goal in the 85th minute. Soufiane Rahimi turned provider, rolling the ball into the Greek striker’s path around 15 yards from goal, and Giakoumakis finished the opportunity.
Speaking after the match, Giakoumakis said Al-Ain had expected a challenging encounter and praised his team’s performance.
“We were really mature from the first to the last moment,” he said.
Al-Hilal Start With Victory
Elsewhere in the AFC Champions League Elite, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal opened their league campaign with a 2-1 victory over Qatar’s Al-Gharafa in Riyadh.
Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored for Al-Hilal, while Alaa Eddin Hasan scored a late consolation for the visitors.
The match also saw both teams reduced to 10 players. Al-Hilal’s Crysencio Summerville was sent off in the 32nd minute following an altercation with Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi. Al-Gharafa midfielder Ismael Bennacer was subsequently dismissed after the confrontation that followed.
Neves gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot shortly before half-time after Al-Rashidi brought down Saimon Bouabre inside the box.
Milinkovic-Savic made it 2-0 with 17 minutes remaining when his header took a deflection on its way past goalkeeper Ahmed Kone.
Hasan pulled one back for Al-Gharafa with a long-range effort deep into stoppage time, but Al-Hilal held on for all three points.
Champions League Qualification Format
The expanded AFC Champions League Elite league phase features 16 teams. The top eight sides at the end of the league phase will qualify for the knockout stage.
The knockout rounds are scheduled to begin in March, while the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be hosted in Saudi Arabia in April and May.
