The hosts stole the initiative by taking the lead in just the eighth minute when Majed Al Marshadi headed home and they had chances to increase their lead after that but failed to make them count, allowing Bunyodkor to get into the game more as the half wore on.

However, the visitors were unable to level before the break and Al Hilal returned to the pitch in the second half with renewed vigour and put the game beyond their opponents with further goals from Christian Wilhelmsson and Thiago Neves.

"I’m very proud of my players as they played great,” said Gerets.

“They really deserved to win this match due to the fine performance they showed over the 90 minutes.

"We played the first 20 minutes as we planned. We scored an early goal and could have added more goals. We lost a number of attempts to score and after that the level of my players decreased. However, they succeeded to prevent them from scoring.

"We then started the second half with the same level on intensity we began the encounter with. As a result we added two more goals and that reflected the excellent match my players had.”

Gerets confirmed he and the players will now enjoy a well-earned rest before beginning preparations for the quarter-finals in September.

"We’ll be having six weeks off,” he added.

“The players ought to have such period of rest time following the big effort they have made so far, and they need to be ready for the next stage which is, of course, very important in this Asian championship.”

Bunyodkor boss Luiz Felipe Scolari had no qualms with the result despite it representing their failure to once again reach the final.

The Uzbeks crashed out at the semi-final stage in 2008 before exiting the tournament in the quarter-finals last year and had failed to really assert themselves throughout this edition.

“I said it before that Al Hilal are a great team that cannot be easily defeated when their players are at their best,” he said.

“Tonight, Al Hilal played very well. They deserved to win for their fine performance in both halves of the match.

"Unlike my team, the Al Hilal players made the most of the chances they had. They scored and won the match. Simply put, this is what football really is.”