But, while the Southern Tigers made a losing start to the 2019 campaign, head coach Benjamin Mora hailed his players’ performance at the home of the eight-time J.League champions after JDT frustrated Go Oiwa’s side throughout the 90 minutes of their Group E opener.

“We are happy because we made our first appearance in the ACL group stage versus the champions, the last champion that was playing versus Real Madrid, that was playing versus Chivas, and we did very well,” said the Mexican.

There was an early scare for the visitors when JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias brought down Takeshi Kanamori on the edge of the box. The away side were relieved that the referee blew for a free-kick and not a penalty.

The former Southampton striker, making his first appearance in the competition since the 2016 quarter-finals, was the hero for his side as goals in either half earned a valuable point on the road for the Chinese Super League team.

But having taken a first-half lead, Pelle was disappointed Shandong couldn’t stay in the ascendancy and come away with all three points, especially after they spurned a number of late chances.

The Japanese side defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the final two years ago to add to the title they won a decade earlier, but they failed to qualify for last year's edition. However, after winning the 2018 Emperor’s Cup, Urawa will make their seventh appearance on the Continent.

Oswaldo de Oliveira’s team have had a poor start to their domestic season, losing the Super Cup to Kawasaki Frontale and then picking up one point from their opening two J.League games, with a 2-0 loss to Consadole Sapporo at the weekend their latest result.

Jeonbuk are one of the most decorated teams in Asia, having lifted the trophy in 2006 and 2016 as well as finishing runners-up in 2011, and they return to the competition after winning their fourth K League 1 title in five years.

The hosts, who were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by domestic rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings last year, began the defence of their K league 1 title with a 1-1 draw against Daegu FC on Friday.

Shanghai finally ended Guangzhou Evergrande’s dominance in China after winning the league in 2018 and return to the competition for the fourth successive year. Their best performance was when they reached the semi-finals in 2017.

The hosts, who remain unbeaten at home in the AFC Champions League, began the defence of their domestic title with a 4-0 win over city rivals Shanghai Shenhua on Friday and also defeated Beijing FC to win the Super Cup a week earlier.

The A-League side, who are making their fifth appearance in the competition, were eliminated at the group stage in 2018 after failing to win a game or score a goal at home. Their best performance to date was when they reached the Round of 16 in 2016.

Unlike the other teams in their group, they are well into their domestic season and currently sit second in the A-League after winning their last two games, against Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United.