During the AFC Champions League match in the United Arab Emirates, where Saudi club Al Nassr faced Al Ain, attention was focused on Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Moroccan player Houssin Rahimi stole the show on Tuesday by scoring twice, allowing Al Ain to secure a convincing 4-0 victory over Al Nassr at the magnificent Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Rahimi scored his first goal in the 25th minute, and his second after the break. His brother Soufiane added the third goal in the 72nd minute, and Giorgos Diakumakis sealed the match five minutes before the end, ensuring a deserved win for the former UAE champions.
Both teams started the match very actively. As early as the second minute, Rahimi hit the crossbar after receiving a pass that split the defense from Alejandro Romero. Then, a powerful shot from Al Ain's Valentino Lázaro was deflected by Abdulela Al Amr in the 13th minute. Four minutes later, the play moved to the other side of the field, where Inigo Martínez's header from a corner was saved by goalkeeper Khalid Ayso.
Al Ain, having possession advantage, scored its first goal in the 25th minute. This happened after an inconspicuous Saad Al Nasser played a back pass, which Rahimi intercepted and shot past Nawaf Al Akidi's feet into the left corner.
The Saudi team came close to an equalizer in the 38th minute when Mohammed Simakan attempted a header from a corner, but the ball went over the crossbar; shortly after, Al Nassr captain Ronaldo was caught offside.
The initial red card for Al Nassr for elbowing Lázaro in the face two minutes before halftime was reduced to yellow after VAR review. At the end of the first half, Abdul Traore of Al Ain missed, sending a shot over the crossbar.
In the second half, Al Ain maintained the same intensity as in the first, but failed to create clear scoring opportunities. In the 60th minute, Rahimi took a first attempt directly at the Al Nassr goal after a cross from Yahya Ben Halel. Nevertheless, three minutes later he succeeded again when his first-touch shot went past the diving Al Akidi following a pass from Alejandro Romero into the penalty area.
Soufiane made it a family goal in the 72nd minute. He capitalized on a pass from Romero, bypassed Simakan down the left flank, and shot the ball into the lower right corner. Al Ain finally cemented the result in the 85th minute when Diakumakis exchanged passes with Soufiane, then fired a low shot into the left corner past Al Akidi.