The sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Inter-Zone Final in Hanoi last week but 4.25’s pair of away goals in Vietnam ensures they will begin the return meeting with an advantage.

Recently crowned Vietnamese champions Hanoi will now need to do what no other side has managed in the AFC Cup: win in Pyongyang – or secure a high-scoring draw – if they are to progress to a first Continental final.

The visitors, meanwhile, would have been satisfied to leave the Vietnamese capital without suffering defeat and can look ahead to the return meeting on home soil, where they have never been beaten in the AFC Cup.

After Rim Chol-min had given 4.25 an early lead, goals from Nguyen Van Quyet and Papa Kebe had appeared to swing the tie in Hanoi’s favour, only for the prolific Kim to strike with three minutes of normal time remaining to hand his side a distinct advantage with the return tie still to come in Pyongyang on October 2.

After the hosts had fallen behind to Rim Chol-min's close-range finish in the 19th minute, Kebe teed up Hanoi captain Nguyen Van Quyet for his seventh goal of the campaign, before the Frenchman put his side in front shortly before the half hour with his first AFC Cup goal. 

But after the Vietnamese side had missed a number of second-half opportunities, they were caught out by a late sucker punch when Kim Yu-song’s strike from distance was too good for substitute goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung as the visitors secured a 2-2 draw.

The Dushanbe-based club sealed their eighth title in ten years with four matches still to play, as Friday’s emphatic win gave them an insurmountable 16-point lead over second-placed FC Khujand, who hold one game in hand.

In addition to becoming the first club to win six Tajik League titles in a row, Istiklol are the nation’s first eight-time title winners, moving one ahead of Tursunzoda-based club Regar-TadAZ

Rim put the visitors in front in the 19th minute when he finished from just a few yards out, but 4.25 found themselves 2-1 down by the half hour as Nguyen Van Quyet and Papa Ibou Kebe netted to raise the volume inside Hang Day Stadium. 

Hanoi then had a number of golden chances to increase their lead but, after failing to make their dominance count, striker Kim Yu-song stunned the home support with just three minutes remaining when his left-foot strike from 25 yards flew into the back of the net to seal the draw.

Both sides came into the game with a solid defensive record behind them.

Al Jazeera had not conceded a single goal in their past four home matches, while Al Ahed kept six clean sheets in the 2019 AFC Cup; more than any other team in the competition.