Ronaldo strikes as Al-Nassr beat Neftchi 3-1 in ACL EliteSports

Ange Postecoglou’s side shook off the interruption to go in front through Angelo in the 33rd minute with a deflected strike before Ronaldo doubled the lead nine minutes later. The 41-year-old struck after Sadio Mane delivered a looping cross from the left that Aiman Yahya directed into Ronaldo’s path with his chest, and the Portuguese forward lashed the ball into the bottom corner with a shot on the turn.

Alisher Odilov pulled one back for Neftchi six minutes into the second half, but Ikromjon Alibaev’s red card for a foul on Mohamed Simakan in the 65th minute and an own goal by Anvarjon Gofurov 13 minutes later sealed the win for the hosts.

<h2>Al-Ahli off the mark</h2> Meanwhile, defending champions Al-Ahli scored twice in the second half to pick up their first win of the new campaign as Marino Pusic&#8217;s side beat Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates 3-1.

Roger Ibanez put Al-Ahli ahead with a 20th-minute header, but Pedro Malheiro levelled in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Goals from Trincao and Feras Al-Brikan in the 58th and 91st minutes respectively moved Al-Ahli onto four points from their opening two matches.

&#8220;We created also in the first half but in the second half we made our goals and I think that was the difference,&#8221; said Trincao. &#8220;Physically we were a little bit better and that was the key to changing the game.&#8221;

<h2>Elsewhere in the league phase</h2> Houssine Rahimi scored twice as Al-Ain defeated Air Force Club 4-1 in Basra, while Hossein Goudarzi&#8217;s 60th-minute goal earned Iran&#8217;s Esteghlal a 2-1 win over Al-Gharafa.

A last-minute penalty from Dostonbek Khamdamov salvaged a 1-1 draw for Pakhtakor against Brendan Rodgers&#8217; Al-Qadsiah in Tashkent, while Tractor from Iran were held to a 0-0 draw by Qatar&#8217;s Al-Shamal.

The top eight finishers in the 16-team league phase in both east and west Asia will progress to the knockout rounds.