“The match was worth three points, and we faced a difficult team, who are the Asian champions,” said Jorge.

“We entered the first half in a bad way but in the second half, we returned to our level and the result was a fair indication of what the team presented during the match in general.

“We have taken a big step towards qualification. We aspire to win the next match against Esteghlal of Iran and qualify in the best possible position.”

AFC Champions League™ 2023/24 winners Al Ain looked to be on their way to a first win of the campaign when Alejandro Romero put them ahead three minutes before half-time.

However, Al Rayyan bounced back in the second half with Mahmoud Trezeguet equalising in the 50th minute before Roger Guedes sealed the points with his strike 25 minutes later.

The defeat and results elsewhere saw Al Ain eliminated from the competition, an outcome that was difficult to bear for head coach Leonardo Jardim, who took over from Hernan Crespo in November 2024.

"We played a completely balanced match but made clear defensive mistakes, which resulted in two goals for the opponents,” said Jardim.

"I will not talk about my future with the team, but only about Al Ain. Since I came, the team has been the same, its level has not improved in the Champions League, but the negative results continued, and the improvement was only in the league matches.

"I bear responsibility for the decline in results in the past period, of course, and today's loss against Al Rayyan of Qatar.”