RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal as Al-Nassr defeated defending champion Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates 5-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Tuesday to put Saudi Arabian teams in the top three places in the 12-team standings.
Al-Nassr has 10 points from four games, two behind local rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli who both have a perfect record with four wins.
Anderson Talisca opened the scoring in Riyadh after just five minutes with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Ronaldo then netted his second goal of this season’s competition from close range just after the half-hour mark after goalkeeper Khalid Eisa could only parry Sadio Mane’s shot from outside the area.
The third came before the break as Angelo’s low cross was deflected into his own net by Fabio Cardoso, but Al-Ain pulled a goal back 10 minutes after the restart as Park Yong-woo’s shot hit the post but rebounded off the back of diving goalkeeper Bento and into the net.
Wesley and Talisca added late goals for Al-Nassr to cement the Saudi dominance of the western zone’s group. The top eight from each of the two groups progress to the knockout stages.
In the eastern zone, Vissel Kobe of Japan went top of the group with a 2-0 win over South Korea’s Gwangju FC, the previous leader. Taisei Miyashiro scored with a penalty after 15 minutes and Daiju Sasaki sealed the victory after the break.
Johor Darul Tazim of Malaysia went third with a 3-0 win over two-time champion Ulsan HD of South Korea.
Just three days after lifting the Chinese Super League title, Shanghai Port lost 3-1 at Kawasaki Frontale of Japan.
Australia’s sole representative Central Coast Mariners picked up its first point with a 2-2 draw with Shanghai Shenhua.
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