Soccer-Al-Ain punish Al-Ittihad to win again in Asian Champions League

Al-Ain continued their unblemished start to their Asian Champions ​League Elite campaign on Monday by thrashing hosts Al-Ittihad ​4-1 in Jeddah to earn Vladimir Ivic's ‌side ​their fourth victory in a row in the competition's western league phase.

Goals from Alejandro Romero and Rafael Rodrigues in the first half put the 2024 champions on the ‌path to a win that moves them onto 12 points at the halfway stage of the opening round. Marwan Al-Sahafi gave Al-Ittihad hope eight minutes after the interval but Jan-Carlo Simic deflected Houssine Rahimi's strike into his own goal five minutes later ‌and Matias Palacios' last-minute penalty completed the rout.

Meanwhile, Joao Felix scored twice as Al-Nassr trounced Pakhtakor 6-2 in Tashkent ‌to ensure Ange Postecoglou's side picked up their second win in three matches after their previous fixture in the competition was postponed last week. "We did a great job," said Felix. "The game was not easy but we did it easily. The mentality was perfect so we are happy with ⁠the win."

The ​victory moves the Saudi Pro ⁠League champions onto six points from three matches. Their meeting with Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates has yet to be rescheduled. Defending champions Al-Ahli ⁠were held to a 0-0 draw by Al-Sadd in Qatar while 10-man Tractor FC of Iran twice came from behind to draw 2-2 ​with Neftchi from Uzbekistan after Masoud Kazemayni equalised in the 99th minute.

Brendan Rodgers' Al-Qadsiah eased to a 5-0 ⁠win in Doha over an Al-Gharafa side that remain without a point from their four matches. Julian Quinones scored twice for the Saudi club as Al-Qadsiah ⁠moved ​onto eight points from four matches.

Al-Wasl secured their first win of the campaign with a 4-3 victory over Iraq's Air Force Club despite Murad Mohammed's 81st-minute goal giving the visitors late hope. "It was a great game for us, ⁠we did an amazing job," said Mehdi Taremi, who opened the scoring for Al-Wasl in the sixth minute. "We suffered three ⁠goals but we were a ⁠little bit unlucky not to score more."

The first eight finishers in the 16-team groups in both east and west Asia will advance to the knockout rounds. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and ‌final will be ‌played in Saudi Arabia in April and May.