Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in the Asian Champions League on Monday, inspiring Al-Nassr to a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Istiklol to make it two wins out of two in Group E.
It was looking bleak for the Riyadh giants at the end of the first half when Senin Sebai put the Tajikistan side ahead. Then, midway through the second half, Ronaldo intervened to score for the seventh successive game, and soon after Anderson Talisca added two more to put Al-Nassr in control of the group.
The game ended comfortably but it was a rocky road beforehand. Despite having more than 80 percent possession and nine attempts on target to the visitors’ one, Al-Nassr found themselves a goal down at the break.
It was hard to comprehend as the hosts had overwhelmed their opposition from the start, but failed to register. With the Central Asians sitting deep and happy to defend, it did not take long for the frustration to build.