From toppling Ronaldo to ending Al Hilal's record run: Al Ain's route to the ACL title

Al Ain won the Asian Champions League for the second time in their history on Saturday evening with an emphatic 6-3 aggregate victory over Japan's Yokohama F Marinos in the final.

Having secured the inaugural edition of the rebranded competition in 2003, the UAE side reached two more finals but had to settle for runner-up on both occasions. There was no denying Hernan Crespo's team this time, though, the win against Marinos the culmination of a remarkable run that saw Al Ain topple a couple of Saudi heavyweights en route to the trophy.

Here is how Al Ain became the champions of Asia.

The only UAE club to gain direct entry to the group stage as the Adnoc Pro League's 2021/22 champions, Al Ain made light work of their Group A assignment. They began with a 3-0 win away to Uzbek club Pakhtakor, then comfortably beat Turkmenistan's Ahal 3-0 at home. Successive wins over Saudi Pro League side Al Fayha – 4-1 at home and 3-2 away – put the Garden City club in command of the group.

A surprise 3-1 home defeat to Pakhtakor occurred in the penultimate group game but Al Ain bounced back to beat Ahal 2-1 away to top Group A with 15 points, six clear of runners-up Al Fayha. As such, they became the first team to book their spot in the last 16.