Good omen for Al Ain?
The 4-1 win over Air Force SC means Al Ain FC have won their opening games by scoring four goals in each. The last time they won more games on the bounce to start a campaign was in 2023-24 (four games), and they went on to lift the trophy for a second time.

Pohang's losing run
Pohang Steelers’ 2-0 loss to Johor Darul Ta’zim extended their losing streak in the AFC Champions League Elite to four games – their outright longest in the competition. It is also the first time they have lost each of their first two games of a campaign.

Low doesn't matter
Al Ahli Saudi FC kept just 36.7 percent of possession in their 3-1 win over Al Wasl FC, their lowest in an AFC Champions League Elite game which they have won since the start of 2023. The match witnessed their second fewest pass attempts (262 vs Al Wasl) in a win in the competition during the same period (238 vs Al Hilal SFC in April 2025).

Kashima on a roll
Kashima Antlers’ 1-0 win over Cong An Ha Noi FC is the third time they have won each of their first two games of an AFC Champions League Elite campaign (2010 – won first 6; 2008 – won first 3).

Al Ittihad pay the price
Al Ittihad Club kept 68.2 percent of the possession in their 2-1 loss against Shabab Al Ahli, their highest in an AFC Champions League Elite match that they failed to win since the start of 2023. In fact, their 23 shot attempts in the game is also their highest in a match they failed to win in the competition during the same timeframe.

High five
With Kashiwa Reysol scoring five times in the first half against Port FC, there have been two instances of a side netting 5+ goals in the first half of an AFC Champions League Elite game this season (also Kashima Antlers vs Newcastle Jets on MD1), as many instances as the last four seasons of the competition combined (0 in 2025-26, 0 in 2024-25, 0 in 2023-24, 2 in 2022).

Ronaldo roars
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal against Neftchi was his 15th goal in the AFC Champions League Elite over 18 appearances, the third most by any player since the start of the 2023-24 season behind Soufiane Rahimi (19 goals in 22 games) and Salem Al Dawsari (18 goals in 27 games).

Guilherme shines
Marcos Guilherme became the fifth player to score a brace for Johor Darul Ta’zim in the AFC Champions League Elite and the first to do so since Jonathan Silva (vs Shanghai Shenhua in November 2025). It also ended a three-game goalless run for Guilherme in the competition.