'It was a game of two halves', says Nasaf's Berdiev after late triumph over Al Wehdat

In what was the third match between the two sides, who had faced-off in the 2011 AFC Cup semi-finals, Al Wehdat were the better team in the opening period, dominating possession and coming closer to opening the scoring on multiple occasions.

Berdiev’s men, however, produced a stellar second-half display that culminated in two late goals from Serbian playmaker Marko Stanojevic who placed the opener from the edge of the area in the 71st minute then adding his second from the spot with a ‘Panenka’ five minutes from time.

In an effort to ensure continuity of Asia’s premier club competition despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the AFC held the 2020 edition in a centralised format in Qatar, with the cities of Doha and Al Wakrah hosting the games.

Last year, hosting rights for group stage matches were divided between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and India for the West, while Uzbekistan and Thailand hosted games in the East.

Ahead of kick-off of the 2022 (East) edition, the-AFC.com profiles the four host cities.