Al Nassr v Esteghlal: Cristiano Ronaldo hails 'important' win in AFC Champions League Elite

Laporte header secures all three points against Esteghlal in Dubai while Isaac Success nets winner in Al Wasl road victory at Al Gharafa

Al Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo cools off during a break in play in the AFC Champions League Elite match against Iran's Esteghlal at Rashid Stadium, Dubai, on October 22, 2024. All photos Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo controls the ball against Esteghlal.

Fans try and get a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo as he enters the pitch.

Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo helps up teammate Angelo Gabriel.

Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo in action.

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo shoots at goal.

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo battles with Esteghlal's Raphael Silva.

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo takes on the Esteghlal defence.

Cristiano Ronaldo hailed Al Nassr's "important win" over Esteghlal in Dubai to maintain their unbeaten start to the Asian Champions League Elite.

Ronaldo was given a rapturous reception at the Rashid Stadium, the home of Shabab Al Ahli – the game was moved from Tehran to the UAE due to the security situation in Iran – and played a part in setting up Nassr's winner.

His angled header towards the top corner was met by a fine save by Esteghlal keeper Hossein Hosseini with Aymeric Laporte on hand to head in the rebound.

Victory maintained Saudi Arabia’s impressive start in the competition. After three games in the group stage, the country’s three representatives are all unbeaten. Al Hilal, who edged a nine-goal thriller over reigning Asian champions Al Ain on Monday, and Al Ahli are first and second as the only two teams with nine points. Al Nassr move into fourth, just two points behind.

"Important win. Let's keep going," Ronaldo posted on social media.

Nassr coach Stefano Pioli added: “Al Nassr fans came to support us in numbers and it was good to get the win for them.

"I am satisfied with the performance, it was a difficult game in tough conditions but we were able to get the win.”

Elsewhere in Group B, Dubai club Al Wasl came from behind to beat Qatari side Al Gharafa 2-1.

The Emirati club conceded a minute before half time when a short corner saw Florinel Coman drilling in a cross that hit Haris Seferovic and bounced kindly for Ferjani Sassi to guide home past Khaled Al Senani.

Wasl were given a lifeline in the 84th minute when Abdallah Yousif was penalised for blocking Fabio Lima’s shot with his arm. The UAE international stepped up to convert the resultant spot kick.

The turnaround for Al Wasl was completed two minutes into added time when Alexis Fontanilla’s cross from the left was turned in by Isaac Success for the winner.

Wasl coach Milos Milojevic praised his side's resilience to secure victory that takes them up to fifth on six points.

"I congratulate my team and our fans for winning the match. We deserved the victory based on our performance. We had an important chance to score early on but didn’t capitalise on it,” said Milojevic.

“After that, Al Gharafa controlled the first half and managed to open the scoring just before the break.

“In the second half, we played at a faster pace, and our level improved. We performed much better than in the first half, which led to the penalty that allowed us to equalise. After that, we scored a second goal to secure the win and earn three very important points."