Cristiano Ronaldo helped new Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli enjoy a successful AFC Champions League Elite debut on Monday, as the Saudi Arabian side defeated Qatar’s Al Rayyan 2-1 in Riyadh.
Sadio Mane gave Al Nassr the lead at Al Awwal Park in first-half stoppage time, the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward meeting Sultan Al Ghannam’s superb deep cross to head home from close range.
Ronaldo, making his first appearance in the rebranded Asian Champions League having missed last week’s 1-1 opening draw against Iraqi club Al Shorta, had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside at the beginning of the second half.
Undeterred, the five-time UEFA Champions League winner doubled Al Nassr’s advantage on 76 minutes when he received Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s pass and curled a beautiful left-footed strike into the net.
The hosts were given a scare late on, though, Brazilian Roger Guedes scoring off Aschraf Bencharki’s low centre at the back post. Still, Al Nassr held on to make it four points from two matches.
Saudi Arabian counterparts, Al Ahli, recorded a second successive win to begin their Asian campaign, with Riyad Mahrez inspiring the visitors to a 2-0 victory at UAE champions Al Wasl in Dubai.
The former Manchester City winger opened the scoring at Zabeel Stadium on three minutes. Meeting defender Roger Ibanez’s excellent long pass over the Al Wasl defence, Mahrez controlled the ball expertly before prodding a shot low into the corner.
Al Ahli, who began the match with summer signing Ivan Toney up front, doubled their lead seven minutes before half-time, when the two same players combined. This time, it was Mahrez who turned provider, curling a corner onto the head of Ibanez for the former Roma centre-back to powerfully nod home.
The win offers some respite to manager Matthias Jaissle. The German, 36, has come under heavy criticism this past week following Al Ahli’s elimination from the King’s Cup to second-tier Al Jandal and Friday’s Saudi Pro League defeat to Al Qadsiah.
Meanwhile, 2011 Asian champions Al Sadd of Qatar secured a 2-0 win against Iran’s Esteghlal at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. An own goal from visiting goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini and an Akram Afif penalty settled the tie.
Also on Monday, Iran’s Persepolis were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Pakhtakor FC despite taking a first-minute lead at Shahr-E Qods Stadium in Qods.
The AFC Champions League Elite features 24 teams – 12 from West Asia and 12 from East Asia. With each club playing four matches at home and four away, the top eight in each side of the draw progress to the knockout stages early next year.
The eventual winner receives $10 million in prize money, an increase from $4 million last season.
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