Andre Carrillo’s header was the difference as Al Hilal secured a narrow 1-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds in the first leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League at King Saud University Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts made their intentions clear from the start, controlling possession and building up pressure on their opponents, while Urawa kept a compact shape and looked to hit on the counter.

The first 20 minutes saw each side get a major opportunity, but heroic defending at both ends meant the goalkeepers would remain untested yet. Daisuke Suzuki threw his body to deflect Sebastian Giovinco’s shot 14 minutes into the game while Ali Al Bulayhi blocked Takahiro Sekine’s effort from inside the Al Hilal box three minutes later.

The capacity crowd at King Saud University Stadium prepared to celebrate in the 29th minute after Salem Al Dawsari’s cross from the right reached Giovinco with only the goalkeeper to beat. The Italian applied his finish past Haruki Fukushima, but Takuya Aoki emerged from nowhere to clear the ball off the goal-line.

And if Al Hilal thought it impossible to get closer to scoring than they did without actually finding the back of the net, that moment came just two minutes later.

Fukushima just about managed to get his fingertips to Carrillo’s header from the corner, and the ball found its way to Bulayhi at the far post inches from the goal line and with no one marking him, but the defender fluffed his lines, sending the ball wide.

Razvan Lucescu’s men picked up where they left off after the restart, piling the pressure on Urawa.

The Japanese defence finally yielded at the hour mark as a fatal mistake from goalkeeper Fukushima allowed Carrillo to get on the end of a Mohammed Al Burayk cross. The Peruvian made no mistake with the goal at his mercy, heading home the opener.

With the lead obtained, Al Hilal opted to retain possession and minimise risks, as their chances were limited to two efforts from Giovinco over the next half an hour.

The former Juventus forward curled an effort from outside the box in the 74th minute that was calmly caught by Fukushima, and eight minutes later he saw his second attempt narrowly miss the target.

Substitute Nawaf Al Abed nearly added a second Al Hilal goal at the death, but his half-volleyed finish from close range hit the side netting.

Al Hilal take a one-goal lead into the return fixture in Saitama in two weeks’ time, but also have the advantage of not conceding at home.

Meanwhile, Lucescu has called on his Al Hilal players to remain focused as there is still all to play for in the AFC Champions League final.

“I would like to thank my players for a very good performance. We kept our balance and were very focused,” said head coach Lucescu.

“We created a lot of opportunities and it was a perfect reaction from the players as they went into the match with strong confidence.”

Such was Al Hilal’s dominance that they controlled nearly 70 percent of the match and had the opportunities to win by a bigger margin.

“It is not easy to say in a football game that we should have scored five goals from five chances. That is not how football works.

“Today, we had the opportunities and it could be Urawa who have those chances in the return leg” added the Romanian.

The victory, said Lucescu, didn’t come as a surprise to him.

“I had full confidence going into the match and the players showed just why my confidence was high.

“However, we still have a match to play and it is very important for us to remain focused.

“We have another 90 minutes which are going to be very tough but if we stay focused and prepare well, I am confident the title will be ours.”