Houssine Rahimi scores twice as Al Ain outclass Ronaldo’s Al Nassr 4-0 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
The spotlight was firmly on Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as Saudi giants Al Nassr arrived in the UAE for their AFC Champions League clash against Al Ain FC.
But when the action got underway on Tuesday, it was Moroccan star Houssine Rahimi who took centre stage, scoring twice as Al Ain produced a commanding performance to thrash Al Nassr 4-0 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Rahimi opened the scoring in the 25th minute before adding his second after the break. His brother, Soufiane Rahimi, struck a third in the 72nd minute, while Giorgos Giakoumakis completed the scoring five minutes from time to seal an emphatic opening victory for the former UAE champions.
Both teams began the contest at a high tempo, with Rahimi coming close to breaking the deadlock as early as the second minute. After latching onto a defence-splitting pass from Alejandro Romero, he struck the post from just outside the right side of the six-yard box.
Al Ain continued to threaten, with Valentino Lazaro’s powerful effort taking a deflection off Abdulelah Al Amr in the 13th minute. Four minutes later, the action shifted to the other end, where Inigo Martínez met a corner with a header that was kept out by goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.
Al Ain, who enjoyed a slight advantage in possession, were handed the breakthrough in the 25th minute. An underhit backpass from Saad Al Nasser on the right was intercepted by Rahimi, who calmly fired the ball through Nawaf Al Aqidi’s legs and into the left corner to put the hosts ahead.
Al Nassr threatened to level the score in the 38th minute when Mohamed Simakan rose to meet a corner but sent his header over the crossbar. Moments later, captain Cristiano Ronaldo found himself caught offside as the visitors searched for a response.
Two minutes before half-time, Al Nasser was initially shown a red card following an elbow to Valentino Lazaro’s face. However, after a VAR review, the decision was reduced to a yellow card. Al Ain’s Abdoul Traore then had the final opportunity of the opening half but sent his effort over the bar.
Al Ain maintained their intensity after the restart, although clear-cut opportunities were initially difficult to come by. In the 60th minute, Rahimi connected first time with a cross from Yahya Ben Khale, only to direct his effort straight at the Al Nassr goalkeeper.
The striker made no mistake three minutes later. Alejandro Romero delivered a pass across the face of goal from the right, and Rahimi met it first time, sending his shot beyond the diving Al Aqidi to double Al Ain’s advantage.
Soufiane Rahimi added to the family celebrations in the 72nd minute. Once again, Alejandro Romero provided the assist, finding Soufiane as he broke in from the left behind Mohamed Simakan before calmly sweeping the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Al Ain put the result beyond doubt in the 85th minute when Giorgos Giakoumakis combined neatly with Soufiane before firing a low shot into the left corner past a helpless Nawaf Al Aqidi, completing an emphatic 4-0 victory.
With inputs from the AFC website.
