The Qatari side were winless on their previous 10 away matches in the competition but they appeared intent on ending that dismal run and dominated for long stretches at the Karshi Stadium.

And their endeavour was rewarded when Tabata unleashed a thunderbolt from nearly 40 metres just after the hour mark that Nasaf goalkeeper Gayratjon Hasanov was unable to keep out despite getting a hand to the shot.

The victory was Al Rayyan's second in a row against the Uzbek club in Group A following their 3-1 win in Doha two weeks ago and it moved them up to second place with six points, four behind group leaders Al Jazira and one ahead of Esteghlal with two games to play.

Nasaf have only one point from four games and are out of contention for a spot in the last 16.

Al Rayyan made much of the early running. Fabio Cesar shot wide with an opportunistic effort from 20 metres in the opening minutes and Daniel Goma tested Hasanov with an effort from even further out in the 10th minute that the Nasaf keeper alertly kept out with a low diving save.

Nasaf's defence was caught ball-watching when Goma ghosted into the box and fired a loose ball on target which Hasanov saved well.

And when the goalkeeper was rounded by Tabata after a brilliant run by the Brazilian that also took him past three Nasaf defenders, the Uzbek club were rescued by Latvian midfielder Andrejs Pereplotkins, who got back in time to turn his goalbound effort wide.

Nasaf offered little in attack during the first half with Ilkhom Shomurodov going closest for the hosts with an 18th minute header that he put wide of the target.

The better opportunities kept falling to the visitors and Leandro (Leandro Montera da Silva) should have done better when he shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat in the 40th minute while Afonso Alves had his effort a minute later ruled out for offside.

Al Rayyan continued to turn the screw in the second half and Tabata nearly profited when he directed a shot on target after Hasanov dropped a corner only to see his effort cleared off the line by Botir Karaev.

However, the deadlock was finally broken by Tabata's sensational strike in the 62nd minute. The free-kick from a central position nearly 40 metres from goal appeared to be too far out to really worry Hasanov but such was the power and accuracy of the Brazilian's shot that it found the bottom right corner of the net despite the Nasaf goalkeeper getting a touch to it.

Nasaf could not muster a response and they could even have conceded another right at the end when Bojan Malisic deflected Tabata's free-kick into his own net only for the referee to disallow it for a shove on Malisic by Alves.

Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre lauded his players afterwards.

"We did a very good job today," said the Uruguayan. "They players did very well and I am very happy for them as we now have a good chance to go to the next round

"We had lots of ball possession and we didn't give many chances to Nasaf. All of that comes down to our good teamwork.

"Nasaf are a very good team and we wish them all the best for their next tournament. They are a good team but maybe they lacked experience at this level."

Nasaf coach Ruziqul Berdiev took full responsibility for his side's failure to progress past the group stage on their first appearance in the AFC Champions League.

"I feel guilty about the mistakes that were made by myself during our matches. I feel that I am the main person responsible for our team not qualifying for the next round," he said.

"The AFC Champions League and the Uzbek League are very different and hopefully the experience that the players gained from playing here will prove beneficial. Even though we have lost here, we not think too much about it. We should continue to play our natural game and hopefully this year, we can be champions of Uzbekistan."