Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr are staring at AFC Champions League elimination after Soufiane Rahimi and Al Ain again tormented the Saudi Pro League giants.
Rahimi scored the only goal in the first leg of this quarterfinal and, after half an hour of a fractious affair at Al Awal Park, the Moroccan forward darted in off the left flank to slot a nonchalant finish through Raghid Najjar’s legs.
The goal stood after a lengthy VAR check and Rahimi made it 3-0 on aggregate when he clipped home another superb goal from the edge of the box in the 45th minute.
Ronaldo existed largely on the margins of the contest, although Abdulrahman Ghareeb gave Al Nassr a lifeline in first-half stoppage time after Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa wandered into no-man’s land in pursuit of Sadio Mane.
Whoever progresses to the semifinals, they will face the winner of the tie between domestic rivals Al Hilal and Al Ittihad. That tie will be played across two legs, both of which will take place in April.
The Sporting News is following Al Nassr vs. Al Ain live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
MORE: Where to watch Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr vs Al Ain
Al Nassr vs Al Ain live score
| Halftime | Goalscorers | |
| Al Nassr | 0 (0) | Ghareeb 45+5′ |
| Al Ain | 2 (3) | Rahimi 30′, 45′ |
Lineups:
Al Nassr (4-2-3-1, right to left): 36. Raghid Najjar (GK) — 78. Ali Lajami, 5. Abdulelah Al Amri, 4. Mohammed Al-Fatil, 15. Alex Telles — 17. Abdullah Al Khaibari, 77. Marcelo Brozovic — 29. Abdulrahman Ghareeb, 25. Otavio, 10, Sadio Mane — 7. Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al Ain (4-2-3-1, right to left): 17. Khalid Eisa (GK) — 11. Bandar Al-Ahbabi, 16. Khalid Al-Hashemi, 3. Kouame Kouadio, 15. Erik — 5. Park Yong-woo, 8. Mohammed Al Baloushi — 20. Matias Palacios, 6. Yahia Nader, 21. Soufiane Rahimi — 10. Kaku.
MORE: AFC Champions League 2023/24: Fixtures, results, schedule, teams, prize money
Al Nassr vs Al Ain live updates, highlights, and commentary
Halftime: Ronaldo storms off in a huff but turning this into a scrap might just be Al Nassr’s best chance. Al Ain’s smooth football on the break served to help Rahimi almost put the tie beyond the Saudi Pro League giants. Ghareeb gave them hope, but it’s still a long way back.
45th minute+8: Al Amri was down holding his head in the area just then. VAR check. No penalty. Telles heads wide at the near post from a corner. Brozovic has been booked for dissent. Once this first half actually ends, the second could be really tasty.
45th minute+5: GOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Abdulrahman Ghareeb!!!!!
Al Nassr have a lifeline, largely on account of Al Ain goalkeeper Eisa losing his mind. He came out to close Mane down, Mane turned away from goal and, well, he followed him. And followed him a bit more to end up in no-man’s land. Mane slid the ball back towards the unguarded net, where Ghareeb did the rest
45th minute+2: Ronaldo tumbles to the ground in the area like a deck of cards looking for a penalty. That’s pathetic, quite frankly. There’s a VAR check, he should probably have been booked. Lajami heads over from the resulting corner.
45th minute: GOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Soufiane Rahimi!!!!
Brilliant again from that man Rahimi, who whips clips a delicious finish into the bottom corner. He took that early on the edge of the box with minimal backlift. Exemplary and clever technique that left Najjar with no chance. Surely there’s no way back for Al Nassr now?
42nd minute: Kaku tries his luck but that’s a routine save for Najjar. Al Nassr give the ball away as they try to play out and a robust Al Amri tackle leaves Palacios on the deck. Mane thinks there’s timewasting at play.
41st minute: He drills low and it bobbles wide. Ronaldo didn’t really get hold of that one.
40th minute: Otavio remains in the wars and Al-Ahbabi barges him to the floor. 35 yards out. Will Ronaldo shoot? What do you think…
39th minute: Ronaldo with the chance! Brozovic cuts back to CR7 but his shot isn’t quite in the corner and Eisa is able to get down to his right and make the save.
37th minute: Brozovic looks to release Mane but the Senegal star concedes a foul. We’re coming back for Otavio being down in a heap in the centre circle. Al Baloushi gets a yellow card for that indiscretion.
35th minute: Rahimi and Erik cut Al Nassr apart down the left. The hosts clear but Al Ain sense they can end this now.
30th minute: GOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Soufiane Rahimi!!!!
After a long delay it stands and Al Nassr now have a mountain to climb. Rahimi timed his run to perfection coming in off the left flank, kept a cool head and slotted a delightful finish through Najjar’s legs. Massive goal!
28th minute: Rahimi into the net for Al Ain but the offside flag goes up! Boss Hernan Crespo instantly signalled for the television review. The VAR is having a look. It’s tight.
25th minute: Brozovic isn’t exactly the guy you’d expect to be producing acrobatic overhead-kicks at the back post. Given how that one went, it might be a while until you see the Croatia playmaker try it again.
21st minute: Ronaldo comes deep and drives forward, feeding Mane on the right. The former Liverpool star crosses, looking for Ronaldo. Al Ain clear behind and Ronaldo’s header from the resulting corner is high and wide.
20th minute: Erik wants a free-kick as Al Nassr full-back Lajmai shoves him over. The referee isn’t interested. Harsh!
17th minute: Telles whips in another beauty. The former Manchester United man’s dead balls really look on-point tonight. Al Ain clear their lines this time.
15th minute: Huge chance for Al Ain! The ball breaks to Palacios inside the area and Najjar saves brilliantly with his feet. Brozovic heads clear to quell the panic.
12th minute: Spicy start to this one. Angry confrontation all over the field.
8th minute: Ronaldo over the latest Al Nassr free-kick on the right. He shoots, somewhat ambitiously, and cracks his effort in to the wall.
6th minute: Fine save from Eisa. Telles whipped a devilish free-kick in from the right, Al-Fatil got up well but the Al Ain goalkeeper sprung to his right to push a firm header clear.
3rd minute: Nervy moment for Al Ain defender Kouame, who lost his footing but did enough to block Otavio and stop the Al Nassr attacker from darting onto a through ball.
1st minute: Al Ain get us underway and first-leg goalscorer Rahimi immediately springs beyond the Al Nassr backline to shoot into the side netting. He looked pretty close to being offside but that’s an early warning. Ronaldo and his team-mates might have had a mountain to climb!
5 mins before kickoff: The teams are in the tunnel. A sea of yellow awaits them and a tifo reading “PAYBACK”. Let’s see if Al Nassr can back up that statement of intent from their fans.
20 mins before kickoff: Not long until the action gets underway now and it’s all fun and games form the travelling Al Ain fans in the stadium…
🚨🎥 | Al Ain fans chant “MESSI, MESSI, MESSI” before kick-off of their game against Al Nassr…..via @1SMi_
It Continues 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/icrEDiMbhH
— PSG Chief (@psg_chief) March 11, 2024
45 mins before kickoff: This is the Al Ain XI.
Our Starting XI for today’s Match #alainclub #ACL @alainfcae pic.twitter.com/Q8SZtU92RL
— Al Ain FC (@alainfcae_en) March 11, 2024
1 hour before kickoff: The teams are in. Here’s how the hosts shape up.
🗒 || Starting lineup,@AlNassrFC vs #AlAin pic.twitter.com/2DbWJPrfYK
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) March 11, 2024
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: It’s safe to say there are a few storm clouds brewing around Al Nassr. It’s certainly not been the sunshine and roses that Ronaldo’s first full season was supposed to herald. They’re on a three-match winless run across all competitions. Another of their marquee signings, Aymeric Laporte, will miss this second leg after being sent off during the initial loss to Al Ain. Ronaldo’s return from his own domestic ban couldn’t avert a 3-1 loss to Al Raed at the weekend, meaning it will need a collapse of epic proportions for Al Hilal not to waltz off with the Saudi Pro League title. All things considered, this is a season-defining night for Al Nassr.
2 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Al Nassr vs. Al Ain in the AFC Champions League. Can Cristiano Ronaldo and co. overcome a 1-0 first-leg deficit and book their place in the semifinals?
To the victory nothing else, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐚’𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 🙌#YallaNassrawi 👊 pic.twitter.com/4ZimL3lely
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) March 10, 2024
Al Nassr vs Al Ain kick off time
This AFC Champions League clash takes place at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and kicks off on Monday, March 11 at 9 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Mon, Mar. 11 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Mon, Mar. 11 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Mon, Mar. 11 |
7:00 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Tue, Mar. 12 | 6:00 a.m. AEST |
| India | Tue, Mar. 12 | 12:30 a.m. IST |
Al Nassr vs Al Ain lineups, team news
Otavio returns to an Al Nassr attack that has struggled since Anderson Talisca went down with a serious thigh injury
Aymeric Laporte is suspended after being sent off in the first leg.
Al Nassr lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Najjar (GK) — Lajami, Al Amri, Al-Fatil, Telles — Al Khaibari, Brozovic — Ghareeb, Otavio, Mane — Ronaldo.
Al Nassr subs: Afandy (GK), Al-Sulayhim, Bu-Washl, Al-Naji, Al-Hassan, Yahya, Qasem, Al-Nemer, Al-Otaibi, Al-Elewai, Tambakti.
Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain are currently second in the UAE Pro League. Striker Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba is a huge miss for them after scoring six goals in as many Champions League games this season.
Al Ain lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Eisa (GK) — Al-Ahbabi, Al-Hashemi, Kouame, Erik — Park, M. Al Baloushi — Palacios Nader, Rahimi — Romero.
Al Ain subs: Bu-Sanda, Al-Mantheri, Barman, Al-Baloushi, Waleed, Al-Shamsi, Hazem, K. Al-Baloushi, Jumaa, Saeed.
Al Nassr vs Al Ain live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch the AFC Champions League group match in selected areas of the world’s major regions:
USA: This game is available to stream on Paramount+. New users can currently get a FREE 30-day trial by entering discount code ‘GOAT’ at checkout.
Australia: Paramount+ also has the rights to all Ronaldo’s AFC Champions League outings in Australia.
UK: The AFC Champions League can be streamed live in the United Kingdom via TrillerTV.
MORE: How to watch Saudi Pro League in USA | How to watch in UK