Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad the teams to beat after AFC Asian Champions League draw

24.08.2023 - 12:03 arabnews.com

Some of the clubs may not be too familiar to the likes of Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema but these superstars now know who they will be facing in the 2023-24 AFC Asian Champions League.

The draw in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday was a low-key affair but all of the 40 teams who start on this journey — with the tournament now an autumn-to-spring affair — know that the quartet of Saudi Arabian clubs are the ones to beat.

With Al-Nassr squeezing through the playoffs with a 4-2 win over Shabab Al-Ahli on Tuesday and going into Pot 4, any group they entered was always going to earn that well-known cliched tag.

There is no “death” here though as Group E is alive with talent, history and excitement. It contains Iranian titans Persepolis, one of the biggest clubs in Asia, and there could be 100,000 fans in Tehran to greet the Yellows when they arrive.

cricket Al-Hilal Cristiano Ronaldo Shabab Al-Ahli Qatar Portugal Uae Iran Saudi Arabia Afghanistan Pakistan Tajikistan

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