The match had been scheduled to take place on May 21 in Karbala, Iraq but was postponed and moved to an alternative venue for security reasons.

Both teams had secured qualification to the Round of 16 with a game to spare. Zobahan needed an added time goal from Reza Habibzadeh to snatch a point from Al Zawraa on Matchday Five and reach 11 points at the top of the group. Al Nassr, meanwhile, cruised to a 3-1 win over Al Wasl to join the Iranians in the next stage.

The precious 2-1 home win cuts Beijing's lead at the top to just two points from the reigning champions and blows the title race wide open with just over a third of the season gone.

Sebastian Tagliabue was the star of the night at the Al Nahyan Stadium when he headed home in the 87th minute to ensure Al Wahda leapfrogged Al Ain to finish third in the standings on goal difference with 46 points. The Argentinian also clinched the topscorer award with 27 goals to his name, having played 25 matches.

Substitute Sho Ito scored twice to earn Kashima a 2-1 win over Shandong Luneng and a place in the next round, when they will play fellow J.League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima over two legs in June.

The J.League side had already secured their passage to the next phase with their final match remaining, and goals from 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Taishi Matsumoto, Yusuke Minagawa and Tsukasa Morishima ensured Jofuku’s side notched up a fifth win in a row in Group F.

“I picked a lot of players who haven't been playing in the J.League,” said Jofuku, who has sought to juggle his squad throughout the group phase. “We've had some issues scoring in the league so we tried to make sure to address that in today's game.

“I thought the match was important because to get through an entire season we need everyone in the squad to contribute and we managed to score three goals. It's an incredible effort.”

The defeat, with Mahdi Torabi and Ali Alipour scoring for 2018 finalists Persepolis, came just four days after Al Sadd had lost the Qatar Amir Cup final to Al Duhail.

It was not the farewell Al Sadd wanted to give retiring Spanish legend Xavi but forward Akram Afif admitted that Al Sadd had not been at their best in both matches.

The K League side were unable to break down Buriram’s well-organised back line throughout the 90 minutes at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, but the result mattered little as Morais and his team had already guaranteed themselves top spot in the group.