Ronaldo Suffers Heaviest Al Nassr Defeat as Al Ain Run Riot in Champions League

By Dorcas Francis Koji

Cristiano Ronaldo suffered the heaviest defeat of his Al Nassr career on Tuesday as Al Ain stunned the Saudi Pro League champions 4-0 in their opening AFC Champions League Elite fixture in the United Arab Emirates.

Al Nassr endured a disastrous return to Asia’s premier club competition, with Houssine Rahimi scoring twice before his brother Soufiane Rahimi and Giorgos Giakoumakis completed a commanding victory for the hosts.

Al Ain took the lead in the 25th minute after Houssine Rahimi capitalised on a poor back-pass from Saad Al-Nasser, calmly finishing the opportunity to put the home side ahead.

Ronaldo and his teammates struggled to find a response, and Al Ain doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute when Rahimi struck again.

The hosts then put the contest beyond Al Nassr in the 72nd minute. Soufiane Rahimi raced onto Alejandro Romero’s through ball before firing a low effort into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.

Giakoumakis completed the rout five minutes from full time after Soufiane Rahimi turned provider, rolling the ball into the path of the Greek striker, who made no mistake from close range.

Ronaldo started the match alongside new Al Nassr signing João Félix, but the Portuguese superstar was unable to inspire a comeback as his team suffered a heavy opening-day defeat.

The result was reported as Ronaldo’s heaviest defeat since joining Al Nassr, underlining the scale of the setback for the Saudi club.

The defeat also revived painful memories of Al Ain’s previous Champions League meeting with Al Nassr during the 2023/24 campaign.

Al Ain eliminated Ronaldo’s side at the quarter-final stage after the two-legged tie finished 4-4 on aggregate. The Emirati club eventually prevailed 3-1 on penalties in Riyadh to advance.

Giakoumakis praised Al Ain’s disciplined performance after the latest victory, saying the team understood the challenge ahead of them.

“We knew it was going to be tough, we had to give it our all and I think we did that,” he said.

“We were really mature from the first to the last moment and we managed to score a good amount of goals and have a good victory.”

The defeat leaves Al Nassr without a point after the opening round of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite league phase, while Al Ain begin their campaign with three points.

The competition’s expanded league phase features 16 teams, with the top eight clubs advancing to the knockout stages.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in March, April and May as Al Nassr look to recover from a difficult start to their continental campaign.