After a cagey start to the game, the hosts had a chance to take the lead 20 minutes in, when Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi was fouled in the box by Pakhtakor defender Marko Simic. Al Gharafa's Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder stepped up and made no mistake from the penalty spot to give his side the lead. In the 28th minute, Al Gharafa doubled their advantage after Diogo Amado's strike from the edge of the box slipped through the hands of Aleksandr Lobanov.
