Ronaldo held scoreless as Al Nassr opens Asian Champions League campaign with 2-0 win vs. Persepolis
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo, left, vies for the ball with Iran's Persepolis Danial Esmaeilifar during their AFC Champions League soccer match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Vahid Salemi]
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo has been held scoreless in his first game in the Asian Champions League as his Al Nassr team beat Iranian club Persepolis 2-0 in Tehran. The game was played inside an empty Azadi Stadium after Persepolis was ordered to play without fans for one game by the Asian Football Confederation, which meant Iranian fans were deprived of the chance of seeing Ronaldo and the Saudi Arabian team’s other big-money signings like Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic. But both goals came from Saudi Arabian players. Abdulrahman Ghareeb opened the scoring on the hour-mark and defender Mohammed Qassem doubled the lead 12 minutes later.
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