Cristiano Ronaldo stayed behind, but João Félix gave Tashkent’s most renowned club a show. The Portugal forward scored twice as Al Nassr thrashed Pakhtakor 6–2 in the AFC Champions League Elite this Monday.
Two minutes were all it took for the match to swing. Abdullah Al-Hamdan struck in the 15th minute, and Félix doubled the lead in the 17th. Félix made it 3–0 after 32 minutes, but Pakhakor’s Flamarion hit back in the 36th to give his team a foothold before half-time.
Al Nassr ended that hope after the break. Abdulelah Al-Amri and Abdulrahman Ghareeb made it 5–1 before Dostonbek Khamdamov scored Pakhtakor’s second in the 75th minute. Ângelo restored the four-goal margin just four minutes later.
«The game was not easy but we did it easily,» Félix was quoted by Reuters. «The mentality was perfect so we are happy with the win.»
The scoreline brought back memories of 27 October 1963, when the Soviet-era Pakhtakor lost 6–1 to CSKA Moscow at the Tashkent Central Stadium in the USSR football championship. Pakhtakor’s forward Gennady Krasnitsky scored the hosts’ only goal that day.
Why Ronaldo missed the match
Al Nassr coach Ange Postecoglou rested Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan, citing a crowded fixture list and the amount of travel involved. Wider security concerns in Saudi Arabia had already disrupted the competition, with Al Nassr’s previous match against Al Wasl postponed, ESPN reported.
Элит Чемпионлар Лигаси, 4-тур "ПАХТАКОР" – "Ал Насср" 2:6 Голлар: Фламарион 36, Ҳамдамов 75 – Ал Ҳамдан 15, Фелиш 17, Фелиш 32, Ал Амри 53, Ғариб 62, Анжело 79. https://t.co/w0cwxSNNzK
— FC Pakhtakor (@Pakhtakor_fc) November 2, 2026
What comes next
Al Nassr moved up to fourth in the West Region standings, with six points from three games, after Monday’s result. They are scheduled to host Qatar’s Al Sadd on 24 November and still have the Al Wasl fixture to make up.
Pakhtakor stayed 12th on two points from four matches. With only eight teams advancing from the West Region, the Tashkent club heads to Al Ittihad in Jeddah on 23 November still chasing its first win.
The backstory: Portugal and Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo to play Pakhtakor FC in Tashkent
