Al Ain stay perfect in AFC Champions League as Al Nassr thrash Pakhtakor without Ronaldo

Al Ain maintained their 100 per cent start to the AFC Champions League group phase with another statement win over Saudi opposition.

Vladimir Ivic's side opened their campaign with a thumping 4-0 win over Cristiano Roanldo's Al Nassr in September and have since added victories over Al Quwa Al Jawiya and Tractor.

On Monday, they put Al Ittihad to the sword, leaving King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah with a 4-1 victory.

“I'm happy with the three points,” Paraguay playmaker Kaku was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency.

The win keeps Al Ain top of the West Asia standings on 12 points, while Al Ittihad flounder in 10th on four points.

The UAE champions weathered early pressure before taking a 17th-minute lead when Predrag Rajkovic palmed Georgios Giakoumakis’ diving header straight to Kaku, who finished from an acute angle.

Al Ain doubled their lead three minutes before the break when Rafael Rodrigues' cross-cum-shot evaded Rajkovic and sailed into the net.

Ittihad made a strong start to the second half, with Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa twice called into action to deny long-range efforts from Dion Lopy and Ahmed Al Julaydan.

The pressure soon paid off as Marwan Al Sahafi collected Houssem Aouar's pass to reduce the deficit in the 53rd minute.

There was a touch of the fortuitous about Al Ain's third goal as Houssine Rahimi’s cross from the right took a massive deflection off Jan-Carlo Simic, with the ball looping over Rajkovic in bizarre fashion.

Matias Palacios then converted a 90th-minute penalty to seal another impressive victory for Ivic's side.

“We played a good match and managed to deal with the different technical circumstances of the game,” Ivic told reporters.

“Al Ittihad started the match with strong pressure during the first 10 to 15 minutes and played well.”

No Ronaldo, no problem

Al Nassr were without captain Cristiano Ronaldo, but still battered Pakhtakor 6-2 in their second group-stage win.

The Portuguese superstar was rested for the trip to Uzbekistan along with Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan.

Ange Postecoglou's side still had plenty of firepower, and went into the break defending a 3-1 lead.

Abdullah Al Hamdan opened the scoring in the 15th minute before a Joao Felix double put the Saudi Arabian champions in command.

Flamarion pulled a goal back for the Uzbeks before the break, but goals from Abdulelah Al Amri, Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Angelo put the game beyond reach. Dostonbek Khamdamov's effort proved little more than a consolation.

It was Nassr's biggest AFC Champions League victory, surpassing their previous 5-1 wins over Al Wahda and Al Ain.

Postecoglou was asked if Ronaldo's absence was a factor in the number of goals Nassr scored, something he categorically rejected.

“It has nothing to do with that,” the Australian said. “In the previous game, with Ronaldo, we scored five goals and he scored a hat-trick.”

It was Nassr's second win from three matches. Their game against Al Wasl was postponed last month following deadly Houthi attacks on Riyadh.

Al Qadsiah win big

Al Qadsiah moved up to third in the standings on eight points courtesy of a 5-0 victory away to Al Gharafa.

Brendan Rodgers' side, playing their first season in Asia's premier competition, were never troubled by the Qataris, with Mexican striker Julian Quinones helping himself to a first-half double after Mohammed Abu Al Shamat had given the Saudi side a 17th-minute lead.

Yasse Alshahrani and Mohammed Al Qahtani were also on the scoresheet.

“We started excellently and imposed great control on the match,” Rodgers said.

“The secret to this big victory is that we play as one family,” Quinones added.

Two-time defending champions Al Ahli were also in Qatar but had to settle for a point following a 0-0 draw at Al Sadd.