Al Ain won the Asian Champions League for the second time in their history on Saturday evening with an emphatic 6-3 aggregate victory over Japan's Yokohama F Marinos in the final.
Having secured the inaugural edition of the rebranded competition in 2003, the UAE side reached two more finals but had to settle for runner-up on both occasions. There was no denying Hernan Crespo's team this time, though, the win against Marinos the culmination of a remarkable run that saw Al Ain topple a couple of Saudi heavyweights en route to the trophy.
Here is how Al Ain became the champions of Asia.
Al Ain win Group A with ease
The only UAE club to gain direct entry to the group stage as the Adnoc Pro League's 2021/22 champions, Al Ain made light work of their Group A assignment. They began with a 3-0 win away to Uzbek club Pakhtakor, then comfortably beat Turkmenistan's Ahal 4-2 at home. Successive wins over Saudi Pro League side Al Fayha – 4-1 at home and 3-2 away – put the Garden City club in command of the group.
A surprise 3-1 home defeat to Pakhtakor occurred in the penultimate group game but Al Ain bounced back to beat Ahal 2-1 away to top Group A with 17 points, six clear of runners-up Al Fayha. As such, they became the first team to book their spot in the last 16.
Nasaf beaten in last 16
Drawn against Uzbekistan's Nasaf in the round of 16, Al Ain found themselves heading for the exit when, after the first leg in Qarshi ended goalless, Akmal Mozgovoy struck for the visitors in the 51st minute at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Nasaf's lead lasted just four minutes as Togolese forward Kodjo Laba levelled for Al Ain before Soufiane Rahimi scored a dramatic late winner in the second minute of injury time for the UAE side to advance 2-1 on aggregate.
Ronaldo and Al Nassr eliminated in quarter-finals
Next up for Al Ain was a showdown with an Al Nassr side packed with some of the finest talent in world football, led by the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Rahimi was the hero once again in the first leg as the Moroccan forward scored the only goal to give Al Ain a slender lead to take to Riyadh.
Al Ain appeared in cruise control when Rahimi struck twice in the first half of the second leg for a 3-0 aggregate advantage, but goals from Abdulrahman Ghareeb and former Manchester United full-back Alex Telles - either side of a Khalid Essa own goal - pulled Nassr level at 3-3.
Sultan Al Shamsi restored Al Ain's lead in extra-time, only for Ronaldo to convert a penalty at the death to take the tie to spot-kicks. It was Crespo's side who kept their cool in the shootout, winning it 3-1 to advance to the semi-finals.
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Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo shows his frustration during the Asian Champions League quarter-final second leg against Al Ain at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on March 11, 2024. The UAE side won 3-1 on penalties after the match finished 4-3 to Al Nassr in normal time and 4-4 on aggregate. Reuters -
Al Ain players and staff celebrate after their victory over Al Nassr. Getty Images -
Sultan Al Shamsi scores Al Ain's third goal. Getty Images -
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their fourth goal. Reuters -
Al Nassr's Aiman Yahya is shown a red card by referee Ahmed Al Kaf. Reuters -
Soufiane Rahimi scores for Al Ain. AFP -
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo remonstrates with referee Ahmed Al Kaf. Reuters -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo during the match in Riyadh. AFP -
Al Nassr's Sadio Mane under pressure from Erik of Al Ain. AFP -
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring Al Nassr's fourth goal. Reuters -
Kouame Kouadio of Al Ain is challenged by Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo. Getty Images -
Abdulrahman Ghareeb celebrates after pulling a goal back for Al Nassr in first-half added-time. Reuters -
Al Ain's Khalid Eisa and manager Hernan Crespo celebrate after Soufiane Rahimi's second goal. Reuters -
Soufiane Rahimi celebrates scoring for Al Ain. AFP -
Al Nassr attacker Sadio Mane controls the ball. Reuters -
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after Al Ain's first goal. Getty Images -
The Al Ain team before the match. Reuters -
The Al Nassr team before the match. Getty Images -
Al Ain fans before the match. Reuters -
Soccer Football - Asian Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Al Nassr v Al Ain - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 11, 2024 Al Nassr fans before the match REUTERS / Stringer
Al Ain topple mighty Al Hilal to reach final
Al Ain entered their semi-final with Saudi giants Al Hilal as the rightful underdogs. The Riyadh club boasted arguably the strongest squad in Asia – even without the injured Neymar – and arrived in the UAE for the first leg riding a world record 34-match winning run.
However, led by the superb Rahimi, Al Ain put themselves in charge of the tie with a 4-2 first-leg victory at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, with the Moroccan's first-half hat-trick supported by a Kaku penalty after the break. Malcom and Salem Al Dawsari scored the goals for Hilal to keep the tie alive.
Hilal struck early in the second leg in Riyadh through a Ruben Neves penalty, but full-back Erik restored Al Ain's two-goal cushion just a few minutes later. Al Dawsari scored his second goal of the tie after half time, and while Hilal pushed for an equaliser, Al Ain held firm to book their fourth final appearance with a 5-4 aggregate victory.
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Al Ain's Soufiane Rahimi celebrates after his side reached the AFC Champions League final. The UAE club lost the semi-final second leg against Al Hilal 2-1 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh but went through 5-4 on aggregate. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Al Ain's Yahia Nader celebrates at the final whistle. -
Al Ain's Khalid Al Hashmi celebrates their ACL semi-final victory over Al Hilal. -
Al Ain's Park Yong-woo celebrates. -
Al Ain's Khalid Al Hashmi celebrates with teammates after the game. -
Al Ain's Alejandro Romero after they progressed. -
Al Ain's Alejandro Romero and Matias Palacios celebrate. -
Al Ain players after reaching the final. -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo celebrates. -
Al Ain's Alejandro Romero, Matias Palacios and Soufiane Rahimi. -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo after the victory. -
Al Ain's Park Yong-woo. -
Al Ain's Erik celebrates after scoring. -
Al Ain's Erik celebrates after scoring their goal. -
Al Ain's Erik celebrates his goal with Kouame Autonne. -
Al Ain's Erik celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal. -
Al Ain's players celebrate Erik's goal. -
Al Hilal's Ruben Neves scores their first goal from the penalty spot. -
Al Hilal's Ruben Neves celebrates his opener. -
Al Hilal's Ruben Neves retrieves the ball after scoring their opener. -
Al Ain's Matias Palacios battles with Al Hilal's Malcom. -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo on the touchline. -
Al Hilal's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic heads the ball clear. -
Al Ain fans at the Kingdom Arena. -
Al Ain supporters chant during the game. -
Al Ain fans during the match. -
Al Ain supporters.
Al Ain fight back against Marinos to seal title
Al Ain made the perfect start to the first leg of the final against Yokohama when Mohammed Abbas pounced on a loose ball in the 12th minute to give the UAE side the lead.
In an entertaining game inside a sold-out Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, the hosts made their second-half pressure count with two late goals as Asahi Uenaka levelled before Kota Watanabe struck the winner six minutes from time.
Trailing 2-1 heading into the second leg at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain were aiming to become just the second team – after Al Ittihad in 2004 – to win the title on home turf having lost the first leg away.
The Garden City side were level on aggregate after only eight minutes following a skilful exchange between Yahia Nader and Rahimi. They were then ahead in the 33rd minute when Rahimi was bundled over in the area, with Kaku stepping up to slot home the penalty.
Yan Matheus restored parity for the Japanese team during a frenetic first half, but hopes of a Yokohama fightback were dealt a major blow when William Popp was shown a red card in the 11th minute of injury time, the goalkeeper fouling Rahimi when the Moroccan was racing clear on goal.
Al Ain made their numerical advantage count as Rahimi scored his tournament-leading 13th goal to make it 4-3 on aggregate in the 67th minute, before an injury-time double from Laba secured a famous 6-3 victory.
