Without the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félixas well as other important figures on the team, Al Nassr went to Turkmenistan to beat Arkadag 1-0in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League 2. At the Ashkhabad Olympic Stadium, in Ashgabat, the country's capital (which had a new attendance record with 45 thousand fans), a goal from Al Nassr's recent signing, Abdullah Al Hamdan, made the difference in the first half of the tie. In the 19th minute of the game, Brazilian Ângelo made a beautiful pass to Al Hamdan, with the former Al Hilal striker placing the ball in the area, past goalkeeper Caryyev. It was his first goal for the new club, in the second game. Before and after the goal, Al Nassr also sent the ball to the post twice in the first half and also did so in added time in the second half, when they came closer to 2-0. This is after, since roughly the hour of the game, the Saudi team had slowed down a little and given Arkadag belief in a possible draw. The game ended even with the minimum difference on the scoreboard, with the second leg scheduled for next Wednesday, the 18th. Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Iñigo Martínez Marcelo Brozovic, Kingsley Coman and Sadio Mané, team references and regular starters, also stayed in Saudi Arabia, as did Ronaldo and Félix, on a day in which the team coached by Jorge Jesus achieved their seventh consecutive victory in official matches, the last five without conceding a single goal.
