Cristiano Ronaldo scores winner for Al-Nassr in AFC Champions League Elite
Cristiano Ronaldo netted the decisive goal as Al-Nassr from Saudi Arabia triumphed over Qatar's Al-Rayyan with a score of 2-1 in the group stage of the AFC Champions League on Monday.
The five-time Ballon d'Or recipient was absent during Al-Nassr's first match, a 1-1 draw with Iraq's Al-Shorta, two weeks back due to a viral infection. On Monday, he had a goal disallowed for offside, but with just 14 minutes left in the game in Riyadh, his strike into the top corner turned out to be crucial.
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Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool striker, scored a header for Al-Nassr just before halftime, and it looked like the victory was in the bag when Ronaldo netted a second goal.
Al-Rayyan made a comeback just three minutes before the final whistle when Roger Guedes found the back of the net from a short distance.
Al-Nassr, aiming to secure their first Asian championship, stayed determined and resilient.
Riyad Mahrez netted his first goal of the season, helping Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia secure a 2-0 victory over Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates. This marks their second consecutive win.
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The Algerian forward, who moved to the Jeddah club from Manchester City in 2023, had been having difficulties with his fitness.
Mahrez got things started early by scoring just three minutes into the match. He sprinted onto a long ball played by defender Roger Ibanez and found the back of the net from inside the box. Just before halftime, he also helped Ibanez score by delivering a corner that Ibanez headed in with a lot of force.
In another match, Al-Sadd from Qatar triumphed over Iran's Esteghlal with a score of 2-0. Meanwhile, Esteghlal's city rival, Persepolis, played to a 1-1 draw against Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan.
The 24 teams are split into two groups of 12, one located in the western region and the other in the eastern region. The best eight teams from each group will move on to the round of 16.
(The headline and image of this report may have been modified by the Business Standard team; the remaining content is generated automatically from an external source.)
