Vladimir Ivic's Al-Ain Dominates Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr 4-0 in Asian Champions League

Al-Ain, coached by former Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Vladimir Ivic, secured a resounding 4-0 victory over Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo in the opening match of the Asian Champions League on Tuesday. The Emirati team's offense proved too much for the Saudi club, with Hussein Al-Ghassani scoring twice in the 25th and 63rd minutes. His brother, Soufian Al-Ghassani, added a third goal nine minutes later, and Giorgos Giakoumakis sealed the dominant win in the 85th minute.

Despite Al-Nassr fielding a star-studded lineup including Sadio Mané, João Félix, and Íñigo Martínez alongside Ronaldo, the team failed to find the back of the net. This heavy defeat marks Ronaldo's most significant loss since joining Al-Nassr in early 2023 and the first time his team has conceded four goals since Manchester United's loss to Brentford in August 2022.

The victory also served as a measure of revenge for Al-Ain, who had lost to Al-Nassr 5-1 in November 2024. However, Al-Ain has had past successes against the Saudi club, having eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League a few months prior to that loss, on their way to winning the title.

Ivic, who previously managed Maccabi Tel Aviv for two stints, took charge of Al-Ain at the beginning of 2025 and led them to an undefeated league championship last season.