Al Ittihad held off a second-half push from Al Nassr to secure a 2-1 win, with George Ilenikhena scoring twice before Angelo pulled one back for the visitors.
Al Nassr threatened almost immediately when Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck from outside the box inside the opening two minutes, although Rajkovic made a comfortable save.
But it was Al Ittihad who made the early breakthrough.
After Steven Bergwijn had been denied by Nawaf Al Aqidi, Ilenikhena struck in the fourth minute, heading into the bottom-left corner to give the hosts the perfect start.
Al Nassr looked for an immediate response, but Al Ittihad continued to carry a threat and doubled their advantage after 22 minutes.
Houssem Aouar split the visitors’ defence with a through ball into the path of Ilenikhena, who kept his composure before finishing left-footed into the bottom-right corner.
The visitors finally began to create more openings as the first half progressed.
Ronaldo released Joao Felix with a through ball in the 34th minute, but Rajkovic saved his effort from the centre of the penalty area.
Two minutes later, Al Nassr found a way back into the contest. Angelo collected the ball inside the box and finished with his left foot to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Rajkovic keeps Al Nassr out
Al Nassr pushed for an equaliser after the restart and Joao Felix tested Rajkovic from a difficult angle in the 53rd minute.
Ronaldo then had another opportunity five minutes later after being picked out by Angelo, but his left-footed attempt from inside the box was gathered by the Al Ittihad goalkeeper.
Angelo almost added a second moments later on a quick counter-attack but sent his effort wide.
The pressure continued, with Samu Costa directing a header at Rajkovic after Angelo’s cross in the 64th minute.
Al Ittihad responded by freshening up their attack, with Youssef En-Nesyri replacing two-goal Ilenikhena and Marwan Al Sahafi also introduced.
Al Nassr made changes of their own as Ayman Yahya replaced the injured Kingsley Coman, while Abdullah Al Hamdan and Abdullah Al Khaibari were later sent on.
Joao Felix had two efforts blocked as the visitors continued to push, while Mohamed Simakan headed wide from another Felix delivery.
Al Ittihad survive late pressure
Al Nassr spent much of the closing stages around the Al Ittihad penalty area, winning a succession of corners without finding the equaliser.
The hosts still carried some threat on the break, with substitute En-Nesyri heading wide before Al Sahafi sent another header over the crossbar.
Al Nassr’s best late opportunities came during six minutes of added time.
Sadio Mane forced Rajkovic into another save after being found by Felix in the 91st minute, before Al Hamdan was also denied from the right side of the box shortly afterwards.
Ayman Yahya then saw an effort blocked and Al Khaibari fired high and wide with one of the final attempts of the match.
You Should Also Read
