“As I’ve said previously, this is a difficult match because Selangor are a good team but I think we played very well today,” said Hodak.

“We were more focused in our defending and that meant that they didn’t get many chances. That said, in the second half we didn’t start well and gave them a couple of chances.

“I think we deserved the win and now we look forward to the second match against them and we have to be wary because nothing in the group is confirmed yet. If they win, they will get back in the hunt so we have to be ready for anything.”

Thailand’s Bangkok kept pace with Persib by defeating Singapore’s Lion City Sailors FC 1-0 at Pathum Thani Stadium with Muhsen Al Ghassani netting a 63rd minute winner.

Despite the slim margin of victory, head coach Totchtawan Sripan never felt his team were in any real danger for most of the match despite Richairo Zivkovic missing a first half penalty.

“In today’s game, we tried to keep them under pressure consistently, so it might have looked like the game was a bit tight but we also had the chance to score the first goal (earlier),” said Totchtawan.

“If we had scored the second goal, the game could have turned out differently. In the end, we maintained the pressure for the full 90 minutes. With them going down to 10 men, it became easier for us to secure the victory.”