"In the first 45 minutes, my team did not play well. We did not play aggressively. I didn't like it. We hardly resisted the opponents and we lost in one-on-one fights,” said Jardim.

“I talked to the players at halftime and told Al Ain to play better. In the second half, we resisted the opponents well, we should have had more possession in defence and in attack we tried to win. I like to fight until the last second. 

“We lost two points today. Now we are tied to the results of other teams.”

Soufiane Rahimi scored four minutes into the second half to cancel out Otabek Jurakuziyev’s sixth minute opener but a red card for Yahia Nader made it difficult for Al Ain to find the winner.

With only two matches left to play, Jardim will not only need to see his Al Ain side pick up maximum points but are also reliant on results elsewhere going their way.

In a slightly better position with four points, Pakhtakor head coach Maksym Shatskykh was encouraged by the performance against Al Ain but at the same time, disappointed his side were not able to put away their chances.

“We created enough chances in the second half. The problem is that we get close to the opponents' goal and cannot complete the attack. Such a problem was observed in both the Super League and the AFC Champions League,” said Shatskykh.

“It is true that we should have pressed harder when the opponents were down one man, but Al Ain are not an ordinary team either. They are the reigning champions of the AFC Champions League. 

“After the dismissal, they simply switched to a 4-4-1 formation. Only Rahimi played in attack. We looked much better in the first half. I repeat again, I am satisfied with the performance that my team showed today.”