Al-Ain thrash Al-Ittihad 4-1 in Jeddah in AFC Champions League Elite

Al-Ittihad suffered a heavy defeat against their Emirati guests Al-Ain, losing four goals to one, in the match held at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, as part of the fourth round of the AFC Champions League Elite.

The match began with Al-Ittihad making attacking attempts to control the game, but they lacked effectiveness in front of goal, allowing Al-Ain to exploit the spaces and defensive mistakes, translating their superiority into goals.

Kaku opened the scoring for the Emirati team in the 16th minute, after following up on a rebound and putting it in the net, before Rafael Rodríguez added the second goal with a header in the 42nd minute.

Al-Ittihad attempted to come back in the second half, with Marwan Al-Sahafi reducing the deficit in the 53rd minute, benefiting from a pass from his teammate Houssem Aouar, making the score 2-1.

Al-Ain responded quickly, with Ittihad defender Yan Carlo Simitch scoring an own goal in the 58th minute, reducing the deficit to two goals and complicating the task for the hosts.

In the 90th minute, Matías Palacios fired the final bullet by scoring the fourth goal from a penalty, confirming Al-Ain's superiority and their big victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Al-Ain have increased their tally to 12 points with a perfect record, having achieved four consecutive victories to top the Western Group, while Al-Ittihad's points remain at 4, dropping them to ninth place and complicating their qualification calculations.