{
  "id": 17905950,
  "title": "Al Ain stay perfect in AFC Champions League as Al Nassr thrash Pakhtakor without Ronaldo",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/al-ain-stay-perfect-in-afc-champions-league-as-al-nassr-thrash",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-03T03:46:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2026/11/03/al-ain-stay-perfect-in-afc-champions-league-as-al-nassr-thrash-pakhtakor-without-ronaldo/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Al Ain secured a perfect 100% start in the AFC Champions League Elite group phase with a commanding 4-1 victory over Saudi club Al Ittihad. The Paraguay playmaker, Kaku, expressed his satisfaction with the result. This win keeps Al Ain atop the West Asia standings on 12 points. The UAE champions displayed resilience early on, but eventually took the lead through Predrag Rajkovic's pass to Kaku, who scored from an acute angle. Rafael Rodrigues doubled the lead with a cross-cum-shot, and Matias Palacios sealed the win with a penalty in the 90th minute. Despite pressure from Al Ittihad, Al Ain maintained their perfect record, leaving King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah with a 4-1 victory.",
  "summary": "Al Ain maintained their 100 per cent start to the AFC Champions League Elite group phase with another statement win over Saudi opposition. Vladimir Ivic's side opened their campaign with a thumping 4-0 win over Cristiano Roanldo's Al Nassr in September and have since added victories over Al Quwa Al Jawiya and Tractor. On Monday, they put Al Ittihad to the sword, leaving King Abdullah Sports City…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}