Ronaldo and Talisca give Al-Nassr control of AFC Champions League group

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. Ronaldo was in the thick of the action but he was just unable to get on the end of several crosses that came his way.

The Yellows came close after half an hour as Abdulrahman Ghareeb cut inside from the left and let fly with a fierce shot from 30 meters that beat the goalkeeper but not the woodwork. It would have been a contender for the goal of the tournament.

Ronaldo shot weakly at the goalkeeper from close range six minutes later but there was a feeling that a goal was coming.

It arrived, but at the other end, just before the break. Sebai’s low shot from just inside the area should have been a comfortable save but it somehow slipped through the fingers of Nawaf Al-Aqidi to silence the home fans.

Talisca’s header then looked to be heading in until Rustam Yatimov threw himself across goal to make a