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 matc.
