Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 26th goal of the season as Al-Nassr keep Asian Champions League dream alive with 2-0 win over Al-Fayha to reach the quarter-finals
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-0 win over Al-Fayha
- Al-Nassr will face Al-Ain in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League
- Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane? Which five players should have played in the Premier League? Listen to the It all starts podcast
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 26th goal of the season as Al-Nassr reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League with a 3–0 aggregate victory over Al-Fayha in an all-Saudi Arabian match.
The Portuguese scored the only goal in the first leg and found the net in Riyadh with four minutes to go in the first leg on Wednesday evening.
Ronaldo took advantage of a goalkeeping blunder to seal the victory, tapping the ball into an empty net after Vladimir Stojkovic failed to clear a long ball for Marcelo Brozovic and allowed the 39-year-old an easy finish.
Stojkovic was also at fault in Al-Nassr’s opener, when Otavio headed Abdullah Al Khaibari’s cross through his legs to put the hosts ahead in the 17th minute.
Ronaldo narrowly missed adding a second when his header hit the post in the 37th minute before sealing victory for his side.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 26th goal of the season as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Fayha 2-0
The Portuguese’s goal secured a 3-0 aggregate victory in the round of 16 AFC Champions League match against Al Fayha
The goal was Ronaldo’s fourth in five AFC Champions League games this season and his 26th in 27 appearances in all competitions this season.
Al-Nassr are still aiming for a first-ever continental title and will face Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the quarter-finals next month after Hernan Crespo’s side defeated Uzbek team Nasaf through Soufiane Rahimi’s injury-time winner.
After a scoreless first leg, Al-Ain, winners of the 2003 AFC Champions League, came back from a goal down to Akmal Mozgovoy’s close-range shot in the 51st minute and leveled four minutes later through Kodjo Laba’s acrobatic effort.
The match appeared to be heading into extra time when Rahimi took advantage of a poor effort from Nasaf goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov to score the winner for the home side after two minutes of extra time.
Al-Nassr are second in the Saudi Pro League, seven points behind Al-Hilal, and have never won a continental trophy.
Earlier in the day, Anderson Lopes’ 122nd-minute penalty gave Yokohama F Marinos a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Bangkok United, sealing a 3-2 win that sets up a quarter-final meeting with China’s Shandong Taishan for the team of Harry Kewell. .
South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai also confirmed their progress to the next round with a 2-1 win over Japanese second division side Ventforet Kofu, completing a 5-1 aggregate win.
Otavio opened the scoring as Al-Nassr kept their hopes of continental silverware alive
Ulsan extended their 3-0 lead in the first leg in the 12th minute when Kim Ji-hyun scored with an instinctive finish from close range after Um Wong-san’s shot came back off the post.
Kazushi Mitsuhiro headed in an 88th-minute corner to level the scores, but Joo Min-kyu scored four minutes into stoppage time to confirm Ulsan’s quarter-final meeting with Jeonbuk Motors, who eliminated Pohang Steelers on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Saudi champions Al-Ittihad will meet Navbahor of Uzbekistan in Jeddah after a scoreless draw in their first match and Al-Hilal will take a 3-1 lead in their second leg against Iranian Sepahan in Riyadh.