Al Ain in the UAE thrash Ronaldo’s Al Nassr 4-0
UAE side Al Ain defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr 4-0 at their home ground in the city of Al Ain in the opening match of the AFC Champions League Elite. The visitors’ captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, did not score in the match, The National reports.
Hussein Rahimi’s brace
The main hero of the match was Moroccan forward Hussein Rahimi, who scored twice. As early as the second minute, he hit the post. Later, Rahimi opened the scoring after intercepting an inaccurate pass by Al Nassr defender Saad Al-Nasser and shooting the ball through goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi’s legs.
Soon afterwards, Hussein Rahimi put the ball in the net again, but the goal was disallowed for offside. After the break, he completed his brace following a move involving Kaku and Matías Palacios. Hussein’s older brother, Soufiane Rahimi, scored the hosts’ third goal, while Georgios Giakoumakis set the final score.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s chances
At the start of the game, Al Nassr launched a counterattack after which Ronaldo got into a shooting position. Running past central defender Rami Rabia, the Portuguese player lost his balance and fell, appealing for a penalty. Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev did not award a spot kick.
In the second half, Ronaldo attempted an overhead kick, but the ball went over the goal. Near the end of the match, he took a free kick, but Al Ain goalkeeper and captain Khalid Eisa saved the shot. The match at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium was attended by 17,433 spectators.
