Early in October, Tashkent-based Pakhtakor hosted Saudi Arabia's Al-Qadsiah in a tense international fixture. The visitors established early pressure, and Tijani Reijnders broke the deadlock in the 35th minute to put the Saudi side ahead. Just before the halftime whistle, Pakhtakor's Stefan Chinedu seemingly equalized, but the goal was subsequently disallowed by the officiating crew due to an offside violation.

Throughout the second half, the Tashkent club pressed forward in search of an equalizer, leading to a crucial intervention by the VAR system late in the match. Following a video review, the referee awarded a penalty kick to the home side. In the 89th minute, Dostonbek Khamdamov successfully converted from the spot, rescuing a 1-1 draw for Pakhtakor. * Meanwhile, Fergana's Neftchi faced a difficult away challenge in Riyadh against Al-Nassr. Notably, the kickoff was delayed by approximately one hour due to unspecified security concerns. The hosts capitalized on their momentum once the match finally got underway.

Gabriel Angelo opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before the veteran star Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead for the hosts in the 42nd minute. This milestone strike marked the 41-year-old Portuguese forward's 981st career goal in professional football. Neftchi briefly responded early in the second half when Alisher Odilov narrowed the deficit in the 51st minute.

Any hopes of a comeback were effectively dashed in the 78th minute when Anvarjon Gafurov inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, sealing a 3-1 victory for the Saudi side. Following the completion of the first two rounds, Pakhtakor has accumulated two points, while Neftchi remains with three points.

Source: uznews.uz