Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal as Al Nassr defeated defending champions Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 5-1 in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite to put Saudi Arabian teams in the top three places in the 12-team standings.

Al Nassr have 10 points from four games, two behind local rivals Al Hilal and Al Ahli who both have a perfect record with four wins.

Anderson Talisca opened the scoring in Riyadh after just five minutes with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Ronaldo then netted his second goal of this season’s competition from close range just after the half-hour mark after goalkeeper Khalid Eisa could only parry Sadio Mane’s shot from outside the area.

The third came before the break as Angelo’s low cross was deflected into his own net by Fabio Cardoso, but Al Ain pulled a goal back 10 minutes after the restart as ParkYong-woo’s shot hit the post but rebounded off the back of diving goalkeeper Bento and into the net.

Wesley and Talisca added late goals for Al Nassr to cement the Saudi dominance of the western zone’s group. The top eight from each of the two groups progress to the knockout stages.

Seeking revenge following last season’s quarter-final exit at the hands of Al Ain, Al Nassr burst out of the blocks on Tuesday.

With the loss, Al Ain languish at the bottom of the West Asia standings having taken a solitary point from a possible 12. A third successive defeat ramps up the pressure on manager Hernan Crespo, who in May guided the club to a first Asian crown in 21 years.

In the eastern zone, Vissel Kobe of Japan went top of the group with a 2-0 win over South Korea’s Gwangju FC, the previous leaders.

Taisei Miyashiro scored with a penalty after 15 minutes and Daiju Sasaki sealed the victory after the break.

Johor Darul Tazim of Malaysia went third with a 3-0 win over two-time champions Ulsan HD of South Korea.

Just three days after lifting the Chinese Super League title, Shanghai Port lost 3-1 at Kawasaki Frontale of Japan.

Australia’s sole representative Central Coast Mariners picked up their first point with a 2-2 draw with Shanghai Shenhua.

Bailey Brandtman poked home for the Australians in the 95th minute after the hosts had been 2-0 down.

That left the Mariners one off the bottom.

With inputs from AP/PTI, Reuters