By Sachit Subba • Football • Oct 13, 2026 04:19 AM • 37 views
A missile threat and an empty pitch greeted fans before kickoff. The Saudi Civil Defence sounded the alarm 15 minutes earlier, keeping both teams in their changing rooms. At the same time, security personnel assessed the situation in the region after cross-border strikes from Yemen. The green light came an hour later, and Postecoglou's side were straight away on the ball.
The hosts took control through sheer patience. Angelo broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute with a driven shot that found the net after it had been deflected. Nine minutes later it was Ronaldo. Sadio Mane delivered a high ball from the left wing into the penalty area which Aiman Yahya met with a chest pass. The 41 year old Portuguese international immediately spun and fired home to give Al-Nassr a comfortable lead at the break.
Neftchi were not going to just fade away. Alisher Odilov got six minutes into the second period to make it 1-2 and effectively put the home crowd to sleep. That run was over in the 65th minute when Ikromjon Alibaev committed a blatant foul on Mohamed Simakan and was shown a red card, leaving Neftchi a man short. Anvarjon Gofurov then scored an own goal 13 minutes later to seal the game and the three points for the Saudi Pro League champions.
The same drama unfolded in West Asia. Champions Al-Ahli secured their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over UAE side Al-Wasl. Roger Ibanez opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Pedro Malheiro levelled in the final minutes of the first half. Al-Ahli's side then scored twice in the second half through Trincao and Feras Al-Brikan.
"We scored in the first half as well, but it was in the second half that we got our goals, and I think that was the difference," Trincao said. "We were a little bit better on the day physically, and that was the key to turning the game."
The result leaves Al-Ahli on four points after two group matches.
Elsewhere in Basra, Houssine Rahimi scored a brace as Al-Ain saw off Air Force Club 4-1. Hossein Goudarzi got the winner for Esteghlal in the 81st minute against Al-Gharafa. In Tashkent, Dostonbek Khamdamov scored the winning spot kick in the 90th minute to give Pakhtakor a 1-1 draw against Al-Qadsiah (Rodgers' side). Tractor were held to a 0-0 draw by Qatar's Al-Shamal.
The 16-team West and East Asian league stage awards knockout berths to the top eight finishers in each sector.
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