RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In a notable match on Monday, Al-Nassr faced their first defeat in the AFC Champions League Elite, falling to Qatar’s Al-Sadd with a score of 2-1. Star player Cristiano Ronaldo was not part of the action, as he was rested for this game, having recently scored five goals in his last three appearances. Instead, he observed the match from the sidelines.

Al-Sadd opened the scoring early in the second half with a goal from Akram Afif, who was honored as the Asian player of the year the previous November. Despite efforts from Al-Nassr’s Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca, it was Romain Saiss’s unfortunate own goal that brought the match to a 1-1 draw with only ten minutes left on the clock.

The situation took a turn in the ninth minute of stoppage time when Afif was fouled in the penalty area. This led to Algeria’s Adam Ounas successfully converting the penalty, sealing the victory for Al-Sadd. This win not only gave Al-Sadd a spot in the round of 16 but also positioned them fourth in their group, just one point behind Al-Nassr, who remained in third place. The top eight teams from both groups will advance to the knockout rounds.

“The game was challenging and closely contested,” remarked Al-Sadd coach Felix Sanchez. “Our strategy was focused on controlling Al-Nassr’s possession, and winning at their home was a significant achievement. The players demonstrated great resilience.”

In other group activity, Al-Ahli secured the top spot after playing to a 2-2 draw against Esteghlal of Iran. Ivan Toney was the star for the host team in Jeddah, scoring both goals. Esteghlal managed to take the lead initially with Raphael Silva’s goal at the 42-minute mark, yet Toney equalized shortly before halftime via a penalty. After Esteghlal regained the lead through Mohammad Hossein Eslami six minutes into the second half, Toney struck again with another penalty four minutes before the final whistle. This marked his fourth goal in Asia within a week.

Additional matches saw Persepolis of Iran defeat Al-Shorta of Iraq 2-1, while Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates and Al-Rayyan of Qatar played to a 1-1 draw.