Al-Ain Beat Tractor 2-1, Stay Perfect

Al-Ain beat Tractor 2-1 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on October 26 to make it three wins from three in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Al-Ain went ahead in the 21st minute. Defender Ramy Rabia hit a powerful low shot from outside the area, after a pass from Rafael Rodrigues, and the ball went into the bottom corner. The hosts held that lead until half-time, but Tractor came out strongly. Tibor Halilovic equalised for the Iranian side in the 55th minute.

Al-Ain restored their lead in the 70th minute. Houssine Rahimi finished after a pass from Yahya Ben Khaleq, who was named the best player of the match. Rahimi has now scored five goals in three games in the competition. He scored twice in a 4-0 win over Al Nassr and twice more against Air Force SC.

The win takes Al-Ain to nine points, the maximum, and keeps them top of the West Region table. Tractor have one point and sit 12th. The result also helped Al-Ain after a difficult run in the domestic competitions. They had lost to Shabab Al Ahli in both the UAE Pro League and the President's Cup in recent days.

Elsewhere in the West Region on Monday, defending champions Al-Ahli beat Al-Gharafa 2-1 in Jeddah. Ivan Toney opened the scoring after four minutes, Florinel Coman equalised in the 53rd, and Matheus Goncalves won it with a long-range strike in the 86th. Al-Ahli have seven points and Al-Gharafa are 18th with none.

Al-Qadsiah drew 1-1 with Al-Sadd in Dammam. Akram Afif put Al-Sadd ahead in the 74th minute, and Julian Quinones equalised for the hosts shortly afterwards. Al-Qadsiah are unbeaten with five points, while Al-Sadd picked up their first point after two defeats.

In Baghdad, Air Force SC won 1-0 against Pakhtakor, with captain Saad Abdulameer scoring in the 70th minute from close range after a flick-on from a free-kick. Pakhtakor are still waiting for their first win.

Al-Ain, with their perfect start, will now look to carry that form into the next matchday.