BAGHDAD, SEPT 17 – In the absence of an unwell Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Iraq’s Al-Shorta in the first match of the rebranded AFC Champions League, yesterday.
Ronaldo, the Portuguese star who has won five UEFA Champions League titles but is yet to lift a major trophy with Al-Nassr, was left behind in Riyadh after reportedly contracting a virus and unable to travel to Baghdad.
Sultan Al-Ghannam opened the scoring for Al-Nassr in the 14th minute, but Mohammed Dawood equalized 10 minutes later.
Al-Nassr also received another blow when Croatian international Marcelo Brozovic was forced off due to injury in the second half.
Meanwhile, Al-Ahli, another star-studded team from Saudi Arabia, beat Iran’s Persepolis 1-0 in Jeddah. Franck Kessie, a former Barcelona and AC Milan midfielder, scored in the first minute. Ivan Toney, who recently joined the club from English Premier League side Brentford, made his debut for Al-Ahli but failed to score.
Former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty in the second half, but Al-Ahli managed to hold on.
Elsewhere, Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates, the last champions of the Asian Champions League before they were replaced by Elite, started the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Al-Sadd of Qatar. Meanwhile, Esteghlal from Iran beat Al-Gharafa from Qatar with a score of 3-0.
A total of 24 teams are divided into two groups based on the eastern and western geographical zones and each team will play eight games. The eight best teams from each group will advance to the round of 16.
Saudi Arabia’s third team, Al-Hilal, will be in action today and will travel to Qatar to face Al-Rayyan. – AP
