Ronaldo on target as Al-Nassr win

Ange Postecoglou's side shook off the interruption to go in front through Angelo in the 33rd minute with a deflected strike before Ronaldo doubled the lead nine minutes later.

The 41-year-old struck after Sadio Mane delivered a looping cross from ⁠the left that Aiman Yahya directed into Ronaldo's path with his chest and the Portuguese forward lashed the ball into the bottom corner with a shot on the turn.

Alisher Odilov pulled one back for Neftchi six minutes into the second half but Ikromjon Alibaev's red card for a foul on Mohamed Simakan in the 65th minute and an own goal by Anvarjon Gofurov 13 minutes later sealed the win for Al-Nassr.

Meanwhile, defending champions Al-Ahli scored twice in the second half to pick up their first win of the new campaign as Marino Pusic's side beat Al-Wasl from ‌the United ⁠Arab Emirates 3-1. Roger Ibanez put Al-Ahli ahead with a 20th minute header but Pedro Malheiro levelled in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.

Goals from Trincao and Feras Al-Brikan in the 58th and 91st minutes respectively moved Al-Ahli onto four points from their opening two matches. "We created also in the first half but ⁠in the second half we made our goals and I think that was the difference," said Trincao.

"Physically we were a little bit better and that was the key to changing the game. "Houssine Rahimi scored twice as ⁠Al-Ain defeated Air Force Club 4-1 in Basra, while Hossein Goudarzi's 60th minute goal earned Iran's Esteghlal a 2-1 win over Al-Gharafa.

A last minute penalty from Dostonbek Khamdamov salvaged a 1-1 draw for Pakhtakor ⁠against Brendan Rodgers' Al-Qadsiah in Tashkent while Tractor from Iran were held to a 0-0 draw by Qatar's Al-Shamal. The top eight finishers in the 16-team league phase in both east and west Asia will progress to the knockout rounds.