Photo: Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo was instrumental as Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr delivered a devastating 5-1 defeat to Al Ain in the Asian Champions League Elite in Riyadh on Tuesday, jeopardizing the title-holders' chances of advancing to the last 16.
The victory marked Al Nassr's third win in four matches during the league phase of the continental championship, propelling Stefano Pioli's team to third place, just two points behind leaders Al Hilal and Al Ahli. With the top eight teams from the 12-team groups in both west and east Asia progressing to the last 16 in March, Al Ain, who triumphed over Al Nassr last season en route to the title, now face the risk of missing out on the knockout rounds.
Hernan Crespo's Al Ain have managed only one point from their four games so far and will need a dramatic turnaround to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table in the second half of the league phase. The UAE-based side was thoroughly outclassed, with Anderson Talisca giving the home team the lead in the fifth minute with a low drive from distance that slipped past Khalid Eisa.
Ronaldo doubled the advantage 26 minutes later when Eisa fumbled Sadio Mane's shot from outside the area, allowing the Portuguese striker to capitalize on the loose ball. Six minutes later, Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel cut in from the left to score, with his shot deflecting off Fabio Cardoso and beating Eisa.
Al-Ain managed to pull one back 11 minutes after the restart when Park Yong-woo's drive hit the post and bounced off Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento to cross the line. However, Wesley's goal nine minutes from time extinguished any hopes of a comeback, and Talisca sealed the rout with his second goal in injury time.
Earlier in the evening, Al-Rayyan climbed off the bottom of the table with their first points of the campaign, securing a 1-0 win over Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan. Hazem Shehata's long punt forward in the 51st minute, intended for Brazilian forward Roger Guedes, sailed over goalkeeper Vladimir Nazarov and into the top corner, securing Al-Rayyan's victory.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
