The Uzbek club Bakhtakor achieved a historic victory over its guest Al-Hilal Saudi goal without a response, in the meeting that brought them together today, in the first leg of the 16th round of the AFC Champions League 2024-2025.
The only goal of the match came in the first half, to give the Uzbek team its first victory over Al -Hilal after eight previous confrontations, which ended with five victories for the Saudi team and three draws.
The match was held at the “neighbor” stadium in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, where Bakhtakor performed a combat performance against Al -Hilal, who entered the confrontation as the most prominent candidate due to his distinguished record in the championship.
Despite the many opportunities that the crescent provided, the defense of the Uzbek team and its goalkeeper succeeded in maintaining the cleanliness of their nets until the final whistle.
The return match will be held on Tuesday, March 11, at the “Kingdom Arena” stadium in Riyadh, where Al -Hilal will seek to compensate for its loss and cross to the quarter -finals.
The Saudi team enters the confrontation with the preference of playing at home and among its fans, while Bakhtakor will try to defend his progress and achieve an unprecedented achievement by reaching the quarter -finals.
Al -Hilal had qualified for this role, leading to the West Group with 22 points, while Bakhtakor qualified with difficulty after his eighth place and collected only 7 points, making his victory today a surprise in the championship.
