Al Nassr's First Asian Champions League Loss Comes in Absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Defeated by Al Sadd

In his recent matches, Ronaldo demonstrated his goal-scoring prowess by netting twice against Al Gharafa and doubling up again in the Saudi Pro League. Despite his impressive performances, the Al Nassr captain was surprisingly left out of Stefano Pioli's squad for the match against Al Sadd. Ronaldo, who has scored 15 goals in 18 appearances for his club this season, was instead seen at Al Awwal Park enjoying some downtime with his mother, Dolores Aveiro, and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez.

Al Sadd took the lead eight minutes into the second half through Akram Afif, when the reigning AFC Player of the Year raced from the halfway line onto a long ball. 

Afif outpaced defender Mohammed Al Fatil and finishing low past Brazil goalkeeper Bento. Al Nassr drew level on 80 minutes, once Brazilian youngster Wesley's low cross was turned into his own goal by Al Sadd defender Romain Saiss. 

Also read: Former rugby league chief Todd Greenberg named Cricket Australia boss, replaces Nick Hockley

However, there would be a huge sting in the tail for Al Nassr, when Afif was tripped inside the hosts' penalty area and substitute Adam Ounas converted from the spot in the 99th minute. With the defeat, Al Nassr stay third in the Western Region group stage, while Al Sadd move fourth to also claim a spot in the last 16. The top eight teams qualify for the knockout stages.

Fellow Saudi side Al Ahli remain top - even if they surrendered their 100 percent record in this year's tournament – thanks to an Ivan Toney double that secured a 2-2 draw with Iran's Esteghlal in Jeddah.

The England striker twice equalised for the hosts from the penalty spot, with the first coming deep into first-half injury time and the second converted in the 86th minute. Esteghlal had Mohammed Hossein Eslami sent off five minutes before.

It represented a second successive Champions League Elite match in which Toney has scored twice following his double last week against Asian champions Al Ain.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to web's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for web audience.