“We expected the match to be tough and everyone saw the strength of the opponent,” Ferreira told the club’s website.

“The match did not play out in the way we wanted it to, but we stayed true to our identity and tried to create chances to score and win on merit."

Nothing could separate the two sides in Tashkent in a 2-2 draw on Matchday Three and a similar scenario seemed to be panning out in Doha in what is a congested group. 

But Al Sadd had the better of the possession and, just like in their previous home game against Persepolis, the 2018 AFC Champions League’s top scorer Bounedjah popped up with a late goal to secure a vital win.

“In the game against Persepolis, we got the win in injury time; everyone on the team knows that if they want the win, they need to fight until the last minute and this is what we did today – and Baghdad was able to score the winner in the 87th minute,” said the Portuguese coach.

“The changes in the positions between [substitute] Yasir [Abubakar] and Abdelkarim[Hassan] had a positive effect on the result of the match. All the players performed at a good level and we succeeded in fulfilling our objective, which was to win the game.”

With Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis 2-1 in Monday’s other Group D fixture, the stage is set for an intriguing final two rounds of fixtures.

Just three points separate top from bottom, with Al Sadd leading the way on seven points, Al Ahli on six, Pakhtakor on five and Persepolis on four.

“The task remains difficult for everyone, because the competition is very intense, even if we defeat Al-Ahli at home,” added Ferreira.

“We then have to go to Iran to face Persepolis and everyone knows the strength of Iranian teams when they play in front of their home fans.”