Al-Hilal lost 1-0 in Uzbekistan to Pahktakor on Tuesday in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Elite round-of-16 clash. Meanwhile, Saudi Pro League rivals Al-Ahli showed them how it should be done with an impressive victory over Qatari side Al-Rayyan.

A first-half goal was enough to give Pahktakor the advantage going into next week’s return leg, and the Riyadh club will have to improve if they hope to progress to the quarter-finals.

The four-time winners, beset by injuries, traveled to a freezing Tashkent in poor form, by their own high standards, with just one win in their past five league games. As a result, the Blues have slipped six points behind Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad, making success in Asia even more important.

Yet they never really got going in the first half and, despite finishing the group stage 14 points clear of their opponents, who won just one game out of eight, they were second-best from the start.

Coach Jorge Jesus will be particularly displeased about the goal, conceded just before the half-hour mark, which made this game the eighth out of the past 10 in which his players have failed to keep a clean sheet.

Brayan Riascos sent over a bouncing cross from the right and while it was a dangerous cross, there were three men in blue in place to deal with it. Instead, Brazilian forward Flamarion was able to get in front of the defenders and steer the ball home from just outside the six-yard box. The surprise was not that the Uzbeks had taken the lead but that it had taken so long for it to happen.

The second half began better for the visitors and they started to create chances. Just after the hour mark, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed over from close range when Moteb Al-Harbi found him with a cross. Abdullah Al-Hamdan came close to leveling for Al-Hilal but, overall, Pakhtakor deserved the victory and their advantage at the midway point of the tie.

There was better news for Saudi fans in Qatar, as Al-Ahli recorded a 3-1 victory over Al-Rayyan. Galeno grabbed the first for the visitors on the half-hour and Riyad Mahrez added a second just four minutes later. Both goals were created by Roberto Firmino.

The Jeddah side appeared to be taking a huge step towards the last eight but there were still some nerves on display when Roger Guedes fired the ball into the top corner of the net from the edge of the area to cut the deficit in half.

Firmino came close twice before Gabri Veiga appeared to have restored the two-goal advantage, with eight minutes remaining, only for the video assistant referee to intervene and rule the goal out for offside.

Deep into added time, however, Firas Al-Buraikan scored from close range to seal the win and give Al-Ahli a great chance to progress in the competition next week.

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique is worried about the speed of Liverpool’s “fighter jets” in attack and warned his team not to give the ball away in their Champions League clash.

PSG host six-time champion Liverpool in the first leg of the round of 16 at Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

“Liverpool has one of the best counter attacks in Europe so we will try to keep the ball and be careful not to suffer too much from transitions,” Enrique said Tuesday at a pre-match news conference. “They have three fighter jets in attack and it’s not easy to stop these fighter jets.”

Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career with 30 goals in 39 games, and is well supported by Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo in attack.

“We are facing the team that has played the best football in the group stage. They were the most consistent side,” Enrique said. “Arne Slot has done a great job. He has created a near-perfect team, which knows how to defend, knows how to press, which can attack either by holding the ball or accelerating.”

In a rare admission, Enrique conceded that Liverpool may have the slight edge.

“Liverpool is also able to create danger without the ball, maybe they don’t need it as much we do,” he said. “To impose ourselves we generally need to keep the ball.”

However, PSG are on a 22-game unbeaten run since a 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich in late November. PSG have won their past 10 matches with an eye-watering 40 goals scored in a successfully re-shaped attack since Kylian Mbappe’s departure to Real Madrid.

“The advantage of our forward is that they can play in every position,” said Enrique, whose clever positional switch has allowed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola to play alongside Ousmane Dembele in attack.

PSG have much better teamwork in the post-Mbappe era, with Dembele scoring a career-best 26 goals in 33 games. The speedy 19-year-old forward Desire Doue and sharpshooter Gonçalo Ramos provide a threat from the bench. Enrique hopes Liverpool’s players will be rattled in Paris.

“It’s difficult for our opponents to play at Parc des Princes with the pressure,” he said. “The atmosphere is extraordinary and I hope we can profit from it.”

However, Liverpool’s Anfield stadium is one of the toughest places for a return leg, as Lionel Messi’s Barcelona found out in the 2019 semifinals, losing 4-0 after winning 3-0 at home.

Both sides are dominating their respective leagues.

Unbeaten PSG are coasting toward a record-extending 13th French title.

Liverpool are closing in on a record-equaling 20th Premier League title, while a seventh Champions League crown would move them level with AC Milan in second place outright.

PSG lost the only Champions League final in their history 1-0 to Bayern in 2020 in the Coronavirus-shortened campaign.