Al-Nassr secured a convincing 6-2 victory over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, despite playing without their captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rested for the encounter.
The 41-year-old Portuguese forward was among three prominent players omitted from the squad by head coach Ange Postecoglou for the trip to Tashkent.
Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were also unavailable for the fixture.
According to The Independent, Postecoglou explained that the decision was influenced by the demanding fixture schedule and extensive travelling commitments facing the team.
Ronaldo’s absence also came amid heightened security concerns in the region following reported missile attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Al-Nassr’s previous home fixture in the competition, scheduled for October 12, was delayed by an hour following reports of the attacks, according to the Associated Press.
Their subsequent meeting with UAE side Al-Wasl was also postponed after the visitors declined to travel to Riyadh over security concerns.
Despite missing several key players, Al-Nassr dominated proceedings at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium, with João Félix scoring twice in the first half.
Abdullah Al-Hamdan opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Félix doubled the advantage two minutes later.
The former Chelsea forward struck again in the 32nd minute to put the visitors three goals ahead.
Pakhtakor reduced the deficit through Flamarion in the 36th minute, but Al-Nassr strengthened their grip on the contest after the restart, with Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdulrahman Ghareeb finding the net.
Dostonbek Khamdamov scored a second goal for the hosts before Ângelo completed the scoring for Al-Nassr in the 79th minute.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the result marked Al-Nassr’s second victory in the competition, taking them to fourth place in the West Region standings with six points.
Pakhtakor remained on two points.
Ronaldo last featured in Al-Nassr’s 5-3 league victory over Al-Kholood on Thursday, scoring a hat-trick to take his career goal tally to 985 and his season’s return to nine goals in 12 appearances.
