Ronaldo faces tough loss as Al Ain beats Al Nassr 4-0

Cristiano Ronaldo faced his biggest loss since joining Al Nassr. Al Ain crushed the Saudi Pro League champions 4-0 in their first AFC Champions League Elite match in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

This defeat was a nightmare return for Al Nassr to Asia’s top club tournament. They were outplayed by Houssine Rahimi, who scored two goals, along with his brother Soufiane Rahimi and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Houssine kicked things off in the 25th minute. He took advantage of Saad Al-Nasser’s weak back-pass. He made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute with another goal.

Soufiane added the third goal in the 72nd minute. He ran onto a pass from Alejandro Romero and fired into the bottom corner.

Giakoumakis sealed the victory with five minutes left. Soufiane set him up nicely, and he scored from close range.

This loss is Ronaldo’s biggest since he joined Al Nassr, according to reports after the match.

The Portuguese star started the game alongside new teammate João Félix. But they could not stop the heavy defeat.

This match also brought back memories of Al Ain’s last meeting with Al Nassr in the 2023/24 AFC Champions League. Al Ain knocked out Ronaldo’s team at the quarter-finals. The tie ended 4-4 on aggregate, and Al Ain won the crucial penalty shootout 3-1 in Riyadh.

Giakoumakis from Al Ain said his team expected a tough match.

"We knew it was going to be tough. We had to give it our all, and I think we did that," he said.

"We were really mature from the first to the last moment. We managed to score a good amount of goals and have a good victory."

Now, Al Nassr has no points after the first round of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite league phase. Al Ain, on the other hand, starts their campaign with three points.

The league phase has 16 teams. The top eight will move on to the knockout rounds. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will take place in Saudi Arabia in March, April, and May.