All eyes are on Al Nassr as the AFC Champions League Elite await Cristiano Ronaldo’s season signing

After Cristiano Ronaldo sat out Al Nassr’s opening match of the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite season two weeks ago, all eyes will be on them when they return to continental play at home to Qatar’s Al Rayyan on Monday.

The Saudi Pro League giants were unable to start September 16th with a win as they suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw against Al Shorta, taking a 14th-minute lead that Sultan Al-Ghannam only gave them after ten minutes Minutes later he was forced to give up again and was unable to score the opposition goal for the rest of the competition.

Ronaldo was absent that night through illness, but since then he has started and scored penalties in both league games – against Al Ettifaq and Al Wehda – while he was rested in the midweek King’s Cup against second division side Al Hazem.

It will be interesting to see whether Ronaldo will make his continental bow for the season on Monday, especially considering that Al Nassr lacked the necessary punch in their last game against Al Shorta, despite having the likes of Sadio Mané and Anderson Talisca still had plenty of power up front and the up-and-coming Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Monday’s clash against Al Rayyan will also be the first continental game for new Al Nassr coach Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro after the draw in his last ACL Elite game and promptly led the team to three straight wins to to revive their season.

Al Nassr was the only Saudi representative to fail to start their ACL Elite campaign with a win, but Al Ahli will be another side hoping for improvement when they face Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates visit.

Two weeks ago, a comfortable victory over Persepolis seemed in sight when Franck Kessié fired them into the lead within the first two minutes, but it didn’t take long for the Iranian visitors to force their way into the game.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy had to make some clever saves to keep the opposition at bay before Riyad Mahrez then missed a golden opportunity to effectively end the contest when he saved a penalty.

Ultimately, the win was still a positive start, but Al Ahli will be aware that they can certainly do better with all the talent at their disposal, including others such as Roberto Firmino, Ivan Toney and Merih Demiral.

The only Saudi Arabian team to not fail to live up to expectations in the opening round was, unsurprisingly, Al Hilal.

A record four-time tournament champion, Al Hilal is a proven performer on the continent’s biggest stage and has admirably weathered the long absence of Neymar – who is getting ever closer to full fitness after almost a year out.

With a starting eleven consisting of only two non-foreigners, Al Hilal defeated Al Rayyan 3-1 two weeks ago.

It was João Cancelo’s first goal since his move from Manchester City, and another big name, Sergej Milinković-Savić, also got on the scoresheet.

But the one who arguably shone brightest on the night was the lesser-known Marcos Leonardo, who is only 21 but already played for Portuguese league giants Benfica before being lured to the SPL.

Like Neymar, Marcos Leonardo is a Santos academy graduate and his dynamic performances, such as in the number 10 role against Al Rayyan, suggest he could develop into a real playmaking talent – someone who could be good enough to be the long-term successor of his compatriot Not only for the club but also for the country.