DAMMAM: Another season of change has arrived in Asian football, as the expanded AFC Champions League Elite kicked off its 2026/27 competition on Monday. Six matches from the West League Stage took place, with narrow victories the order of the day as exhausted squads head into the international break this weekend.

“We just played our (Saudi Pro League) match against Al-Taawoun 48 hours ago,” Al-Hilal head coach Simone Inzaghi said ahead of their clash against Al-Gharafa of Qatar on Tuesday.

This concern about player fatigue, just seven matches into the league season, was a recurring theme; Al-Nassr head coach Ange Postecoglou noted during the press conference before his side take on Al-Ain in the UAE: “We’ve already played eight games in the hottest part of the year.”

The club that will perhaps be feeling the relentless nature of the schedule most acutely are defending ACL champions Al-Ahli, who emerged from their opening fixture against Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan with a 1-1 home draw.

TV pundit Obeidallah Al-Essi said that, according to his research, Al-Ahli have played the most games of any team in the world since the start of the season. While cross-checking that claim across every country would be a monumental task indeed, it is certainly hard to imagine there can be many teams, if any, that have played 10 competitive games in the past 31 days, with an 11th to come against South African side Mamelodi Sundowns in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Saturday.

The optimism surrounding that game has faded somewhat, especially after three defeats in their past five SPL fixtures, followed by the draw with Pakhtakor on Monday. In fact, Al-Ahli were on the brink of defeat, after the visitors broke through their defense on the counter in the 86th minute and Flamarion put the ball past Edouard Mendy to open the scoring.

However, Firas Al-Buraikan, scorer of Al-Ahli’s winning, and only, goal in last season’s ACL final, pounced on a rebound in the third minute of stoppage time, after goalkeeper Vladimir Nazarov had parried the ball into his path, to rescue a point.

Earlier in the day, Neftchi Fergana of Uzbekistan welcomed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya of Iraq in the opening fixture of this season’s tournament. The visitors were unable to find a way past their hosts and Neftchi claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to Zoran Marusic’s 83rd-minute winner.

Al-Ittihad traveled to Doha to face Al-Shamal, who were playing in the competition for the first time and took the lead in the 63rd minute through Baghdad Bounedjah. The game appeared to be heading toward defeat for the Tigers, until Georginio Wijnaldum snatched an equalizer in the dying moments of injury time for a 1-1 draw.

In Dubai, a 22nd-minute Yuri Cesar strike was enough for last season’s semifinalists Shabab Al-Ahli to claim a narrow 1-0 victory over Tractor of Iran. Another Iranian side, Esteghlal, claimed the biggest victory of the day as they triumphed 3-0 against Al-Sadd of Qatar at Al-Basra International Stadium in Iraq.

Finally, Al-Qadsiah’s debut in the competition could scarcely have gone better as they defeated Emirati side Al-Wasl 2-1 in Dammam. Brendan Rodgers’ side delivered a performance that precisely matched the coach’s strategic template, featuring assists from wing-backs Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat and Christopher Bonsu Baah for second-half goals from Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui. Al-Wasl did pull one back through Leandro Leite deep into stoppage time but it was too little, too late.

After Quinones grabbed the opener in the 57th minute, Al-Qadsiah posted a message on social media platform X, saying: “He opened the scoring at the World Cup, and he’s also opened our account in Asia.”

The Mexican talisman, top-scorer in the SPL last season, will be hoping the goal kick-starts a return to his top form as Al-Qadsiah set their sights on a deep run in the competition.

On Tuesday, Al-Nassr travel to the UAE for a mouthwatering encounter against Al-Ain at 7 p.m., Saudi time, then Al-Hilal host Al-Gharafa at 9:15 p.m.