By Michael Church

April 7 (Reuters) - Talking points from the week in Asian football:

AL-ITTIHAD GO FIVE CLEAR IN SAUDI PRO LEAGUE DESPITE DRAW

Al-Ittihad increased their lead in the Saudi Pro League to five points despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Al-Ahli as defending champions Al-Hilal were handed a 3-1 defeat by cross-Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, including an 88th minute penalty, to secure a win that moves Al-Nassr to within three points of second-placed Al-Hilal with eight games of the season remaining.

Al-Ittihad salvaged a point in the Jeddah derby when Karim Benzema scored in the 94th minute after Ivan Toney had given Al-Ahli an 82nd minute lead.

WESTERN UNITED REDUCE AUCKLAND FC LEAD WITH WIN OVER PERTH

In-form Western United moved to within five points of A-League leaders Auckland FC on Saturday as Ramy Najjarine's 86th minute goal sealed a 3-1 win over Perth Glory.

Auckland, who have already booked their spot in the six-team end-of-season finals series, remain in first place despite a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers.

That result saw Western Sydney drop to fourth as Melbourne City's 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners took Aurelio Vidmar's team into third.

MACHIDA MOVE INTO J-LEAGUE TOP SPOT AFTER KYOTO DOWN KASHIMA

Machida Zelvia climbed into top spot in the J-League on Sunday despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Kawasaki Frontale as previous leaders Kashima Antlers suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Kyoto Sanga.

Machida moved onto 17 points from the first nine games of the season and lead Sanfrecce Hiroshima on goal difference after last season's runners-up, who have played one fewer game, handed Cerezo Osaka a 2-1 defeat.

Kashima dropped to third on 16 points to sit level with Kashiwa Reysol, who won 1-0 against Gamba Osaka, and Avispa Fukuoka, 1-0 winners over Urawa Red Diamonds.

DAEJEON SEE K-LEAGUE LEAD TRIMMED TO TWO AFTER JEONBUK LOSS

Daejeon Citizen saw their K-League lead cut to two points on Saturday after slipping to a 2-0 defeat to Gus Poyet's Jeonbuk Motors.

Daejeon had held a five point advantage going into the game following a midweek win over Ulsan HD, but that advantage was reduced as Gimcheon Sangmu handed Daegu FC a 2-0 loss to close in on the leaders.

FC Seoul moved up to third after their 0-0 draw with Ulsan while Jeonbuk climbed to fourth. Defending champions Ulsan sit in fifth.

SHANGHAI CLUBS DEADLOCKED AS DERBY ENDS IN STALEMATE

Defending champions Shanghai Port are locked together with cross-city rivals Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League after the pair shared a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Port's Yu Hanchao struck eight minutes from time to cancel out Liu Ruofan's fifth minute opener as the teams shared the points, leaving both sides on 11 points from games with identical scoring records.

Chengdu Rongcheng moved up to third with a 2-0 win over Dalian Yingbo.

(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Himani Sarkar)

((Michael.Church@thomsonreuters.com; +852 9023 4874;))