Al Ain secured a dominant 4-0 victory against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Tuesday’s AFC Champions League Elite (ACL) clash. The win was anchored by a spectacular performance from the Rahimi siblings, who combined to dismantle the Saudi side in front of a capacity home crowd.
Houssine Rahimi opened the scoring for Al Ain in the 25th minute, breaking the deadlock to give his side a 1-0 advantage heading into the halftime break. Despite Al Nassr’s attempts to reorganize and alter their fortunes in the second half, the hosts remained in command, eventually doubling their lead when Houssine struck again 13 minutes after the interval.
Soufiane Rahimi added to the pressure on the visitors, firing home the third goal in the 72nd minute. With only 15 minutes remaining, Al Ain maintained their dominance, capped off by a final strike from Greek forward Giorgos Giakoumakis five minutes before the final whistle to seal the 4-0 result. The victory moves Al Ain to the top of their group as they continue their pursuit of a third continental title.
In a separate ACL Elite fixture held on Monday, UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli began their campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory against Iran’s Tractor FC. Yuri Cesar provided the decisive moment in the 22nd minute at the Rashid Stadium, capitalizing on a loose ball following a fumble by Tractor captain Shojae Khalilsadeh to steer his shot past goalkeeper Parsa Jafari.
Shabab Al Ahli’s opening performance was marked by early intensity, including a disallowed goal by Sardar Azmoun in the seventh minute and a long-range effort from Rikelme that struck the bar shortly after. Despite the dominance, Tractor FC created opportunities, notably through Tomislav Strkalj in the 40th minute, though his effort was comfortably saved by Matheus Donelli.
The second half saw both sides continue to threaten, with Jafari denying a powerful strike from Yuri Cesar before the UAE winger set up Saeid Ezatolahi for a missed opportunity in the 58th minute. Tractor’s Mohammad Daneshgar nearly equalized with a header that skimmed the crossbar in the 79th minute, and Mehdi Shiri’s long-range attempt two minutes later was tipped over by Donelli.
Reflecting on the performance, Shabab Al Ahli coach Andre Jardine expressed mixed feelings despite the win. While pleased with the objective of securing three points, he acknowledged that his side should have converted more chances given their level of control. Jardine pointed to a recurring issue where the team lost its grip toward the end of the first half, stating that this trend needs to be addressed in upcoming matches.
The current tournament format features a 16-team eastern league phase, where the top eight finishers will advance to the knockout stages. The competition is scheduled to culminate in Saudi Arabia, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final matches will be held in April and May. The report also notes that al Nassr kept on trying to equalise but they failed to penetrate the watertight defence of Al Ain. The report also notes that the score at the half-time read 1-0. The report also notes that al Nassr were expecting a change of fortune with the change of the side. The report also notes that houssine struck again 13 minutes after the half-time to extend the lead to 2-0. The report also notes that with the time passing away quickly, Al Nassr had come up with some plan to not only stop Al Ain but also curtail the deficit. The report also notes that ronaldo failed to produce the same magic he is known for. The report also notes that seeing his brother, Soufiane also changed gears and dispatched a shot into the post to make it 3-0 in the 72nd minute. The report also notes that charging down the right but finding no takers for his diagonal pass before Rikelme rattled the bar a minute later from some 35 yards as Shabab Al Ahli intensified their attacks, azmoun tried again in the 19th minute.
