Al-Ittihad have defeated Uzbekistan’s AGMK 3-0 in their first game back in the AFC Champions League group stages on Monday.
The Tigers secured a spot in this year’s Champions League group stages after claiming the Saudi Pro League title last season.
After a total of 1462 days, Al-Ittihad made their return to the competition and kicked off their Asian campaign with a home game against AGMK.
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo had to do without the services of Karim Benzema, Igor Coronado, and Portuguese winger Jota as the trio missed the game through injury.
Summer-signing Luiz Felipe made the bench despite leaving the pitch with an injury on his debut for Al-Ittihad against Al-Akhdoud last week.
Meanwhile, Haroune Camara started in attack and the Saudi Arabian centre-forward repaid the trust shown by Nuno Santo trust after firing his side into the lead early in the game.
The youngster pounced on a loose ball inside the box and slotted it into the bottom corner to give Al-Ittihad the breakthrough after 10 minutes.
Four minutes later, Camara was on the scene again as his deflected shot found an unmarked Romarinho and the Brazilian finished from close range to double Al-Ittihad’s advantage.
The hosts wasted a clear goalscoring opportunity in bizarre fashion when Abderrazak Hamdallah attempted to square the ball to Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti but the pass was short and was intercepted by AGMK’s Botirali Ergashev.
Despite missing a number of chances, Al-Ittihad got their third before the break as they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Hamdallah inside the box.
Romarinho stepped up and converted from the spot to net his second of the game and secure a dominant win in their opening group game.
Al-Ittihad will now turn their attention to the Saudi Pro League as the defending champions face Al-Fateh on Thursday, September 21st.