Cristiano Ronaldo to the rescue, as he netted the decisive goal and gave Al-Nassr a crucial 2-1 win against Al-Rayyan on Monday in the AFC Champions League Elite Group stage In the same category but the next match, Riyad Mahrez registered a 2-0 home win for Al-Ahli against Al-Wasl.
Following a 1-1 stalemate with Al Shorta from Iraq in the tournament's first match, Al Nassr was all over its Qatari guests on home soil in Riyadh. They should have been leading within the first five minutes when Otavio released Angelo for the shot, with the Brazilian camping in the penalty area, but the youngster fluffed his shot. Angelo had celebrated his goal during Al-Nassr's 2-0 victory against Al-Wehda in the Saudi football Pro leagues.
The pressure extended as Ronaldo got a great opportunity to unlock the match. After coming back from the previous game which he missed due to flu, the Portugal forward saw his effort foiled by Paulo Victor, Al-Rayyan’s new signing from Ettifaq FC in Saudi Arabia. Another relieved shot by Roger Guedes required a sterling performance by keeper Bento from Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo was again off target seven minutes to halftime, he headed a cross from Sadio Mane over the bar. The dam broke before the interval when Sultan Al-Ghannam put in a perfect cross, and Mane headed home from distance to put Al-Nassr 1-0 up.
Towards the start of the second half, Ronaldo thought that he had thus doubled the lead with a volley that was however offside. Unyielding, Ronaldo entered his goal in the 76th minute what was in effect a precise shot into the corner of the net after a clever through pass from Abdulrahman Ghareeb. Even as Al-Rayyan’s Roger Guedes equalized in the final minutes, heading into with an assist from Achraf Bencharki, Al-Nassr managed to secure the win to place them third in the 12-team group, 4 points.
On the other hand, Al-Ahli needed a win in Dubai after intense past weeks highlighted by their shocking King’s Cup elimination to lower division Al-Jandal. Coach Mattias Jaissle was under pressure, but that pressure was eased when Mahrez opened the score in the third minute. The Algerian, who has attracted criticism for his recent performances, looked as good as new when he received a long ball from Roger Ibanez and left the goalkeeper helpless after beating him to the corners.
Just before halftime, Mahrez gave a corner for Ibanez, who scored a stunning header and put Al-Ahli 2-0 up. Al-Wasl had opportunities today but failed to convert them, and Al-Ahli’s win took them to the summit of their group.
The winners of the two groups will be the eight teams who get through the preliminary groups and from these eight, only four will be dumped out and go to the round of 16. Some clubs are better placed than others and at the moment things are looking good for Al-Ahli to progress. Al-Hilal who defeated their counterpart Al-Rayyan will be facing Al-Shorta on Tuesday.
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