Cristiano Ronaldo suffered his heaviest defeat since joining Al Nassr after Al Ain handed the Saudi Pro League champions a 4-0 defeat in their opening AFC Champions League Elite fixture in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
The result marked a disappointing return to Asia’s premier club competition for Al Nassr, who were overwhelmed by two goals from Houssine Rahimi and further strikes from his brother, Soufiane Rahimi, and Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Al Ain took the lead in the 25th minute when Houssine Rahimi pounced on Saad Al-Nasser’s weak back-pass and finished the opportunity.
The forward struck again in the 63rd minute to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
Nine minutes later, Soufiane Rahimi extended Al Ain’s lead to 3-0 after racing onto Alejandro Romero’s through ball before calmly finding the bottom corner.
Giakoumakis completed the rout five minutes before the end of regulation time. Soufiane turned provider, laying the ball into the Greek striker’s path for a close-range finish.
The defeat represented Ronaldo’s biggest loss since his move to Al Nassr, according to reports following the match.
Ronaldo started the encounter alongside Al Nassr’s new signing, João Félix, but neither player could prevent the Saudi club from suffering a heavy defeat.
The result also brought back memories of Al Ain’s previous Champions League clash with Al Nassr during the 2023/24 campaign.
Al Ain eliminated Ronaldo’s team in the quarter-finals after the two-legged tie ended 4-4 on aggregate. The UAE side eventually prevailed 3-1 in the penalty shootout in Riyadh.
Giakoumakis said Al Ain had anticipated a difficult match before producing a convincing performance.
“We knew it was going to be tough, we had to give it our all and I think we did that,” he said.
“We were really mature from the first to the last moment and we managed to score a good amount of goals and have a good victory.”
The loss leaves Al Nassr without a point after the opening round of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite league phase, while Al Ain begin their campaign with three points.
The competition’s expanded league phase consists of 16 teams, with the top eight progressing to the knockout rounds. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in March, April and May.