MARGAO, India (AP) — Without star Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi club Al-Nassr beat FC Goa 2-1 on Wednesday to maintain its perfect record in the Asian Champions League Two.
Ronaldo, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Saudi club in July, stayed in Riyadh to rest while Al-Nassr traveled to India.
The Saudi club took the lead with goals from Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel and Haroune Camara before Brison Fernandes pulled one back for Goa. But it wasn't enough to stop Al-Nassr winning a third consecutive game in Asia’s second-tier continental club championship.
In the AFC Champions League Elite, Al-Hilal extended its winning run to four games with a 3-1 victory over Qatar’s Al-Sadd. Turkish midfielder Yusuf Akcicek opened the scoring in the 25th minute, and former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly doubled the lead just before halftime.
Al-Sadd cut the deficit in the second half through Roberto Firmino, but Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sealed the win for Al-Hilal nine minutes from time.
Al-Hilal, a four-time champion, leads the western group of the 24-team tournament, which is split into two geographic zones. The top eight teams from each zone advance to the knockout stage.
“The first half was excellent, and in the second half our opponents regained confidence and played better,” Al-Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi said. “We didn’t start well in the first 15 minutes, but we came out with the win and remain on top of the table.”
In the eastern zone, South Korean clubs prevailed over Japanese opposition. Two-time champion Ulsan HD moved into first place with a 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Gangwon FC edged second-place Vissel Kobe 4-3 to draw level on points.
In Asian Champions League action Monday, former AC Milan coach Sergio Conceição earned his first win in charge of Saudi club Al-Ittihad with a 4-1 victory over Al-Shorta of Iraq.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Kicks or Treats: Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks! Read moreKicks or Treats Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks
Burlingame High School Panther Theater group brings Neil's Simon's farce Rumors to life on O… Read moreNeil Simon's Rumors: Burlingame High School Drama
BSA Troop 44 invites all 5th-8th grade boys and girls to our annual Canoe Day event! Meet ou… Read moreBoys & girls grades 5th - 8th: Join us for Canoe Day!
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.