Pakhtakor had only conceded two goals in the competition prior to Wednesday, but the dismissal of the talisman following a VAR-reviewed incident just 15 minutes into the Persepolis game was a turning point for them, according to Huistra.

“If you speak about the game, you speak about the first 15 minutes. The red card kills off the match, especially when you then go 1-0 down,” said Huistra.

“We tried to make substitutions and bring in new energy, but when you get yourself in the situation to get a red card, then it becomes very difficult to win this type of matches.

“I spoke to Masharipov after the game and, naturally, he feels responsible. He is one of the captains and stars of the team and he always wants to do well,” he added.

“If you look at the whole tournament, the players worked hard, played well and it fills me with optimism for the future,” Huistra stated.

A second-half brace from Issa Alekasir earned Persepolis a 2-0 win over Pakhtakor at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Both teams were going into their third AFC Champions League quarter-final, a record for their respective nations, and both boasted mean defenses, with Persepolis conceding just once in their last five games and Pakhtakor once in their last four.

Pakhtakor suffered a huge blow just 15 minutes into the match when talisman Jaloliddin Masharipov saw straight red following a challenge on Kamal Kamyabinia.

Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh referred to VAR before sending Masharipov off, making it the first VAR-reviewed red card in the history of the AFC Champions League after the introduction of the technology at the quarter-final stage of the competition.

Four minutes into the second half, Hossein Kanaani supplied a through pass for Siamak Nemati down the right and the number 88 squared for Alekasir who converted first time past Eldorbek Suyunov to put Persepolis in the lead.

Persepolis doubled its extend in the 66th minute and again it was Alekasir on the scoresheet. The striker got on the end of a Bashar Resan cross, beating goalkeeper Suyunov at the near post for his fourth goal of the 2020 AFC Champions League.

The result means Persepolis will meet Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr in the semi-final on Saturday, having faced its city rival Al-Hilal SFC at the same stage in 2018 and going on to reach the final.

The Uzbekistan side will meet Persepolis of Iran on Wednesday in the AFC Campions League (west) quarter-finals.

“All three teams would have been difficult opponents,” said Pakhtakor assistant coach Pieter Huistra. “Persepolis is a great team and we know them quite well because we faced them last year in the group stage and it is champion of Iran, so we have to be ready and have to be in good shape but we are confident. We played some good games already here and we are looking forward to Wednesday to play again.”

“They had four clean sheets and we had three clean sheets, so I think we are similar teams. Everything is possible in this game,” the Dutch coach stated.

“We believe in ourselves and we will be ready for this game. We played two teams from Iran already in this competition, so we are getting used to it. Iranian teams are always strong, we know that. It will be an exciting and strong game,” he added.