Al Nassr’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal as they defeated Al Rayyan 2-1 in the second round of 2024-2025 AFC Champions League Elite (West Zone) at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Monday.

Ronaldo’s goal came in the 76th minute after former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane had opened the scoring for them (45+2 minute). Roger Guedes scored Al Rayyan’s goal in the 87th minute.

Ronaldo left no one in doubt of his eagerness to make his mark on the night as he was caught offside within a few seconds of the opening whistle in an attempt to get an early goal.

The former Real Madrid star had quite a number of attempts at goals, prominent among which was a left-footed shot from the left side of the six yard box, which was brilliantly saved in the centre of the goal by Al Rayyan’s goalkeeper Paulo Victor in the 10th minute, and another right-footed attempt from an assist by Angelo three minutes later, which was also calmly saved by Victor.

With the passing of time, the hosts grew more into the game, while Al Rayyan equally had a couple of chances of their own, with Mahmoud Trezeguet in particular being in outstanding form with several attempts at goals that were either saved or blocked.

Just when it seemed the half would end with the balance of scales even, the weight unsurprisingly titled towards Al Nassr in one minute of added time, with Mané finding the mark with a superb header from the left side of the six yard box after a through ball by Sultan Al Ghannam, following a corner kick.

The second half resumed with Al Nassr continuing to make attempts at increasing their goal lead while The Lions, who lost 1-3 at home to another Saudi side Al Hilal in the opening round, went in search of an equaliser.

Ronaldo eventually doubled the lead for Al Nassr in the 76th minute with a left-footed shot from the right side of the box that sailed high into the net from an assist by Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Undaunted by the deficit, the Qatari side kept their composure and continued to forge waves of attacks against their opponents.

Al Nassr’s defence eventually gave way three minutes to regulation time, with Guedes finishing a fast break for Al Rayyan with a splendid goal from an inch-perfect pass by Achraf Bencharki to reduce the deficit for the visitors.

Al Rayyan will next host Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia on October 21, while Al Nassr visit Iran’s Esteghlal the next day.