In an intense encounter on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr suffered a 1-0 defeat to Al Ain in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarterfinal match, putting them on the back foot.

The match, held at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, saw Soufiane Rahimi score the lone goal in the 44th minute. This victory ended Nassr’s unbeaten run of eight matches in the continental championship and raised doubts about their chances of reaching a third consecutive semi-final appearance.

Al Ain faced the match without their key striker Kodjo Laba, sidelined due to injury, but Moroccan Rahimi stepped up admirably, scoring his sixth goal in the competition, matching Laba’s season-high tally.

Despite Al Nassr's relentless efforts, goalkeeper Khalid Essa made crucial saves, denying Ronaldo twice with remarkable acrobatics. Nassr's challenges were further compounded when Aymeric Laporte received a red card in the added time.

While Sadio Mané and Ayman Yahya had early chances for Nassr, Rahimi came close to opening the scoring in the 23rd minute, only to be thwarted by David Ospina’s diving save.

In the 28th minute, Rahimi provided an assist to Kaku, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Shortly after, Rahimi capitalized on a through pass from Alejandro Romero to net the decisive goal just before halftime.

Despite several opportunities, including a chance for Ronaldo, Nassr struggled to find the net in the second half. The match saw a total of eight yellow cards, and with numerous fouls, 11 minutes were added to the second half, extended further when Laporte received a red card in the 90+4th minute for elbowing Al Ahbabi.

The second leg of the quarter-final is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia next Monday.