Lokomotiv had collected all three points in their opening fixture at home against Al Wahda, while Al Rayyan were subjected to a 5-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad last week in Jeddah.

The visitors came racing off the blocks and stormed into the lead within four minutes of kick-off to the stunned silence of the home crowd.

Temurkhuja Abdukholikov outmuscled Rodrigo Tabata in midfield to gain possession of the ball and exchanged passes with Jamshid Iskanderov before crossing for Diyorjon Turapov who tapped in at the far post to give Lokomotiv the lead early on.

The hosts took the game to their opponents’ half from the start and Leonardo was a constant nuisance for the Ittihad defence as he repeatedly tried his luck from outside the box in the opening quarter of an hour.

The Clarets took the lead 16 minutes into the game following a lapse of concentration from Ittihad captain Ahmed Asiri.

The Qatari side were edged out 2-1 on aggregate in the 2018 semi-final after the teams had also shared a win apiece in the group stage.

Despite their strong domestic form of late – Al Sadd sit top of the Qatar Stars League – the Doha club got off to a poor start on the continent as they lost 2-0 to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli last week, and they will be desperate to get points on the board in what is a tough-looking group.

Marat Bikmaev, back at the club for the first time since leaving in 2004, opened the scoring away at Persepolis as Pakhtakor eventually came away from the Islamic Republic of Iran with a credible 1-1 draw on Matchday One.

Pakhtakor, who have Odiljon Xamrobekov available again after suspension, have only twice faced Al Ahli in the competition – back in 2005 when they won 2-1 in Tashkent but lost 3-0 in Jeddah.

Backed by a capacity crowd at Karbala Sport City Stadium, Al Zawraa started on the front foot as Abbas tested Al Wasl goalkeeper Humaid Abdulla from range 17 minutes in, but the Emirati goalkeeper tipped the shot behind for a corner.

The home crowd were sent into raptures as Al Zawraa skipper Samal Saeed fired home the opening goal halfway through the opening period.

The defender capitalised on a poor headed clearance by Abdulla Jassim to take the ball on the half-volley with his left, leaving the goalkeeper watching as his thunderous strike nestled into the back of the net.

With AFC Champions League firsts, a returning star and an intriguing match-up all part of this week’s action, the-AFC.com has picked out five things to look out for on Matchday Two.

The 32-year-old, who has played across Europe and Central America since leaving his native land, has in that time also earned over 90 international caps, played at three FIFA World Cups and won the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, where he was also named MVP of the tournament.

We take a look back at the Samurai Blue icon's career ahead of to his homecoming to learn more about his football journey in the slideshow above.

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