Al Ain continued their unbeaten start to the AFC Champions League Elite with a 4-1 away win over Al Ittihad in Jeddah on Monday 2 November 2026. The result gives the United Arab Emirates club a fourth consecutive victory in the western league phase of the competition.

The visitors took control before half-time. Alejandro Romero opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and Rafael Rodrigues added a second goal in the 42nd minute, sending Al Ain into the break with a two-goal lead.

Second-half goals settle the match

Al Ittihad gave themselves hope shortly after the restart, when Marwan Al-Sahafi pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute. That hope lasted only five minutes. Jan-Carlo Simic turned a Houssine Rahimi effort into his own net in the 58th minute, restoring Al Ain's two-goal advantage.

The scoring was completed in the final minute, when Matias Palacios converted a penalty to make the score 4-1. The late goal underlined a difficult evening for the home side, who were unable to match Al Ain's attacking efficiency in front of their own supporters.

What the result means

The win moves Al Ain onto 12 points at the halfway stage of the opening round, keeping them on a perfect record in the competition. The first eight finishers in each 16-team group advance to the knockout rounds, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia in April and May.

For Al Ittihad, the defeat is a setback at home in a campaign where every point matters in the race for a knockout place. Their meeting with Al-Wasl had yet to be rescheduled at the time of reporting, leaving their fixture list still to be settled.

Sources: Reuters match report and LiveSoccerTV scorecard, 2 November 2026.