Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday became the first A-League side to win the Asian Champions League after a scoreless draw against Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.

Played in front of a capacity, boisterous crowd at King Fahd Stadium, Tony Popovic's side withstood a procession of chances in the second leg of the final to complete a fairytale ride to the top of Asian football.

In just their third season of football, the Wanderers lifted the trophy 1-0 on aggregate after Tomi Juric's goal earned them a home win at Parramatta in the first leg last weekend.

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"We were called a small club yesterday. Today we are the biggest in Asia," Popovic said.

"It is still a little surreal for me as a coach. I am sure it will hit home in the next few days when we reflect."

"I am just proud for these players and our club. The first time in the competition, to win it, I think in the future we will really understand how special this run has been," he added.

"We don't have the resources or the funds that some of these other teams have but we have something that money can't buy, the desire to win, the resilience to play for each other and do anything we can to win. No money can buy that."

While Western Sydney deserves great credit for their defensive resilience, it was hard to make a case to wave away two penalty decisions either side of half-time.

Sydney's saviour ... Wanderers goalkeeper and tournament MVP Ante Covic (left) salutes the crowd with coach Tony Popovic (right). ( AFP: Fayez Nureldine )

When Antony Golec stretched and found Nawaf Al-Abid rather than the ball, it seemed the roaring crowd would have their penalty.

But no whistle was forthcoming, incensing Al-Hilal boss Laurentiu Reghecampf.

Japanese referee Nishimura Yuichi again kept his whistle from his lips on the hour when Wanderers goalkeeper and tournament MVP Ante Covic clearly slid in on Salman Al Faraj.

The result felt like a robbery, but Covic and his defensive four stood tall to repel chance after chance.

Al-Hilal was the better team in both legs: coach Reghecampf

No whistle ... The Wanderers were lucky not to concede a number of penalties. ( AFP: Fayez Nureldine )

HOW THE WEST WON GROUP STAGE Wanderers 1-3 Ulsan Hyundai

Guizhou Renfe 0-1 Wanderers

Wanderers 1-0 Kawasaki Frontale

Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 Wanderers

Ulsan Hyundai 0-2 Wanderers

Wanderers 5-0 Guizhou Renfe ROUND OF 16 (Western Sydney progress on away goals) First leg: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-1 Wanderers

Second leg: Wanderers 2-0 Sanfreece Hiroshima QUARTER-FINAL (Western Sydney progress on away goals) First leg: Wanderers 1-0 Guangzhou Evergrande

Second leg: Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 Wanderers SEMI-FINAL First leg: FC Seoul 0-0 Wanderers

Second leg: Wanderers 2-0 FC Seoul FINAL First leg: Wanderers 1-0 Al-Hilal

Second leg: Al-Hilal 0-0 Wanderers

The match quickly settled into a predictable pattern of Al-Hilal possession and territory.

By design or otherwise, the Wanderers found themselves without and behind the ball, but they were tightly organised and able to prevent Al-Hilal from finding dangerous outlets.

Al-Hilal's best first-half opportunities came from free kicks and through sheer weight of numbers after the break.

When Al-Hilal's forwards, led by Brazilian Thiago Neves, did have opportunities, too often they failed to test the 39-year-old gloveman.

That changed in the final quarter hour with Al-Hilal streaming forward but finding Covic in unbeatable form.

In a vintage display, Covic's best came with five minutes remaining, denying substitute Yasser Al Qahtani's thunderous drive from ten metres with a stunning reflex save to turn it around the post.

"We had bad luck and we had many chances. We were the best team over the two games," Reghecampf told reporters.

"If you lose one game when you play bad, you can congratulate the other team, but when you play how we played and they play how they played, we feel very bad."

That the Wanderers were able to grind out a result was made more impressive by the ferocious environment.

Lasers continually shone in Covic's eyes, the crowd becoming more restless as the match wore on.

But Western Sydney held out, prevailing where the only other A-League team to make the ACL final, Adelaide United, could not.

The result is especially sweet for Popovic's side, denied in two A-League grand finals on their first two attempts.

On the last whistle, both the winners and defeated slumped on the ground, drained of all energy.

That quickly gave way to a release of frustration, with rivals involved in late fisticuffs.

AAP