In the inaugural match of the newly renamed AFC Champions League Elite, Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia and Al-Shorta of Iraq drew 1-1 on Monday despite the absence of a sick Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al-Nassr claimed that Ronaldo, the Portuguese sensation who has won five UEFA Champions Leagues but has not yet won a major title with his current club, was suffering from a viral ailment and was unable to fly to Baghdad, therefore he was left behind in Riyadh.
After 14 minutes, Sultan Al-Ghannam gave Al-Nassr the lead, but Mohammed Dawood pulled one back ten minutes later.Another setback for Al-Nassr came when Croatian international Marcelo Brozovic was forced off the field early in the second half due to injuries.
In Jeddah, Al-Ahli, one of Saudi Arabia’s three elite teams competing in the tournament, defeated Iran’s Persepolis 1-0.
Franck Kessie, a former midfielder for AC Milan and Barcelona, scored in the opening minute. Ivan Toney, who joined Al-Ahli in August after leaving English Premier League team Brentford, made his Asian debut, although the England striker was not able to record a goal.
Al-Ahli survived after Riyad Mahrez, a former Manchester City player, missed a penalty in the second half.
Starting with a 1-1 draw against Al-Sadd of Qatar, Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates—last year’s winners of the Asian Champions League before it was replaced by the more efficient Elite—started the competition. In another match, Iran’s Esteghlal defeated Qatar’s Al-Gharafa 3-0.Each of the two groups of twelve teams, which are split into the east and west geographic zones, plays eight games. Each group’s top eight players advance to the round of 16.
Al-Hilal, the third team from Saudi Arabia, takes on Al-Rayyan in Qatar on Tuesday.