DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Joao Cancelo scored his first goal for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Arabian club beat Qatari club Al-Rayyan 3-1 in the Asian Champions League Elite tournament on Tuesday.
The Portuguese international, signed from Manchester City, scored just before halftime. Earlier, Serbia international Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for the four-time Asian champion. Cancelo then assisted Marcos Leonardo for the third before the break.
Early in the second half Roger Guedes scored for Al-Rayyan but it was the Saudi Arabians who came closest to scoring again as Aleksandar Mitrovic missed a penalty.
Al-Hilal’s Riyadh rival Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Al-Shorta of Iraq on Monday when Cristiano Ronaldo stayed in Saudi Arabia after being diagnosed with a viral infection.
In this revamped tournament, the 24 teams have been divided into two groups of 12, divided into east and west geographic zones, and each plays eight games. The top eight from each group progresses to the round of 16.
There were goals galore in the east. South Korean debutant Gwangju FC won 7-3 against Yokohama F.Marinos, the Japanese team that lost in May’s final.
Chinese teams enjoyed a good start. Shandong Taishan defeated Central Coast Mariners of Australia 3-1 while Shanghai Port won 4-1 against Pohang Steelers, three-time winners, of South Korea.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Vissel Kobe and Buriram United of Thailand drew 0-0.
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