Holders Kashima Antlers, Guangzhou Evergrande and Ulsan Hyundai all take slim leads into the second legs, while the tie between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Shanghai SIPG is still firmly in the balance.

Urawa Red Diamonds striker Kenyu Suigmoto was on target for his first ever goal in the AFC Champions League in their Round of 16 first leg tie on Wednesday to earn this week's top accolade.

It was, however, a bittersweet achievement for the 26-year-old as his first-half header was followed up by a pair of strikes from visitors Ulsan Hyundai in a 2-1 defeat.

Nevertheless, Sugimoto's performance was an impressive one. His goal was nominated for Goal of the Week and his all-round game was excellent with a passing accuracy of 91.3% the stand-out statistic. He was awarded a 7.7 rating to lead the Toyota Player of the Week standings.

Another J.League player, Serginho (below) of Kashima Antlers, took second place in the rankings as he scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over countrymen Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

All four games remain tight ahead of the decisive return meetings in the coming days, before which the-AFC.com looks back at some of the numbers that caught the eye as the knockout rounds got underway.

The first leg of the Round of 16 pitted the champions of China PR and Korea Republic against each other and it took Moon less than a minute to open the scoring and silence the home support inside Shanghai Stadium.

With the outside of his right foot, Lim clipped a pinpoint delivery over the top of the Shanghai defence which Moon latched onto before lifting the ball over Yan Junling to break the deadlock before carrying out one of the more unique celebrations the competition has seen this season.

The Chinese Super League champions could not have asked for a worse start in their tie with Continental heavyweights Jeonbuk, conceding in the opening minute after Moon Seon-min's clever finish.

However, the hosts responded with Wang heading home Yu Hai's cross six minutes before half-time. Chances came and went after the interval but a 1-1 draw was to be the final scoreline. A result that Wang feels, while fair, does put his side in a difficult position going into the second leg on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old had been out of action in recent weeks, missing China PR’s games against the Philippines and Tajikistan, but returned for the 2-0 victory over Shanghai SIPG on Friday and then played a crucial role in the win over domestic rivals Shandong in the 2019 AFC Champions League.

Having missed a gilt-edged opportunity early in the game, Wei put the two-time winners in front in the 35th minute and was then quick to show his appreciation to doctor Silvano Cotti, running straight to the bench to embrace the Italian.

Brazilian striker Serginho scored the only goal of the game to give the holders the upper hand going into next week’s return leg in Hiroshima and Jofuku knows his team face an uphill battle to turn the tie around despite Kashima only having a narrow advantage.

"I think the boys gave it everything they had,” he said. “We were aware of Kashima's strengths and thought that we did a good job of stopping them from creating legitimate chances.