Dubai Night Belongs To Ronaldo As Al Nassr Beat Al Wasl

2026-04-19 11:51:26

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Hordes of fans turned up at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai on Sunday for Al Wasl's Asian Champions League Two quarterfinal against Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr.

While local fans came out in big numbers to support the Dubai club, it was Al-Nassr who still grabbed the spotlight, thanks to the towering presence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

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The Portuguese icon didn't disappoint his fans, leading Al Nassr to a comprehensive 4-0 win over eight-time UAE champions.

Al Wasl faced a daunting task against the Saudi club, which featured marquee names like

Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Joao Felix and Inigo Martinez as the support cast for Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

And inevitably, it was the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star who grabbed the first goal of the contest in the 11th minute.

Great work from Coman and Nawaf Bu Washl allowed Ronaldo the space to find the back of the net.

Al Wasl were stunned by the early goal as Al Nassr came at their defence in waves, leaving the home team in complete disarray.

Inigo Martinez then consolidated Al Nassr's position with the second goal in the 24th minute.

Felix's teasing delivery from a corner found Martinez in the perfect place to score.

Ronaldo's compatriot, Felix, showed his class again with another beautiful cross two minutes later - this time Abdulelah Al Amri was the beneficiary as the centre-back added his name to the scorers' list.

The two quick goals put daylight between the two teams as the Saudis completely started dominating the midfield.

The writing was on the wall for the Dubai team after Al Nassr went to the dressing room with a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Al Nassr continued to enjoy the lion's share possession in the second half despite Ronaldo's substitution in the 68th minute of the match.

Then Mane, the former Liverpool star, added the cherry on the cake for Al Nassr by scoring the fourth goal in the 80th minute after the Senegalese beat Al Wasl goalkeeper Mohamed Ali.

With the emphatic victory, Al Nassr have now advanced to the last four stage where they will take on the winner of the clash between Qatar's Al Ahli SC or Al Hussein of Jordan.

This was also the 15th straight win in all competitions for Al Nassr, who are on track to the Saudi Pro League title for the first time since 2019.

They lead the Saudi Pro League standings with 76 points from 19 matches, eight points ahead of second-placed Al Hilal, who have a match in hand.

Sunday's performance will also keep Ronaldo's hopes alive of winning his first major silverware in Al Nassr colours.