Al-Nassr suffered their first defeat in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, falling 2-1 to Qatar’s Al-Sadd in a match where Cristiano Ronaldo was absent. Ronaldo, who has scored five goals in his last three appearances, was rested and watched from the sidelines as Al-Nassr had already secured a place in the round of 16.
Al-Sadd took the lead shortly after halftime when Akram Afif, who was named Asian Player of the Year in November, found the net in the 53rd minute. Despite near misses from Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca, Al-Nassr equalized with an own goal by Romain Saiss in the 80th minute.
However, the match turned in the dying moments when Afif was fouled in the penalty area. In the ninth minute of stoppage time, Algeria’s Adam Ounas converted the penalty to seal the victory for Al-Sadd.
With this win, the 2011 champions secured their place in the round of 16, moving up to fourth in their group, just one point behind Al-Nassr, who currently sits in third. The top eight teams from each of the two groups will advance to the knockout stage.
“It was a tough and close game,” said Al-Sadd coach Felix Sanchez. “We worked hard to stop Al-Nassr from having the ball, and to win at their home stadium. The players showed their character.”
In other group action, Al-Ahli topped the standings after a 2-2 draw with Iran’s Esteghlal. Ivan Toney scored both goals for Al-Ahli in Jeddah. Esteghlal initially took the lead with a goal from Raphael Silva before Toney equalized from the penalty spot just before halftime. After Esteghlal regained the lead through Mohammad Hossein Eslami, Toney netted his second penalty in the closing minutes, marking his fourth goal in Asia within a week.
In other matches, Iran’s Persepolis defeated Al-Shorta of Iraq 2-1, while Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates played to a 1-1 draw with Al-Rayyan of Qatar.
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