Rui Vitoria opted to rest striker Abdelrazak Hamdallah ahead of a crucial clash with Al Hazm in the domestic league on Saturday, but his side were dominant from start to finish and stormed to victory at King Fahd International Stadium.

Al Wasl goalkeeper Sultan Al Mantheri was made to work hard, making two important saves to deny Fahad bin Jumayah inside the first 20 minutes.

Zobahan needed one point to advance to the next round with a game to spare, while Al Zawraa’s hopes hinged on them bagging the three points at home.

Mohammad Zobeir Niknafs headed the visitors into the lead in the 28th minute. An in-swinging corner from Marion was nodded on by Mohammad Reza Hosseini for Niknafs who powered home his header at the far post to open the scoring.

Al Rayyan had suffered their joint-heaviest AFC Champions League defeat in the reverse fixture, falling to a 5-1 humbling by Al Ittihad in Jeddah on Matchday One. They needed a win on home soil to stand a chance of grabbing one of the two Round-of-16 tickets.

The hosts threatened through Abdulaziz Al Hasia whose seventh-minute touch of Mohammed Ala Eldin’s cross was not strong enough to direct it goalward. Al Ittihad responded a few minutes later as Nasir Al Shamrani stabbed Abdullah Al Amar’s cross wide off target.

Malaysian champions Johor have picked up just one point from four games in their debut appearance as back-to-back defeats to Group E leaders Shandong Luneng on Matchdays Three and Four moved them closer to the exit door.

Johor, who remained top of their domestic league with a 2-0 victory over Felda United at the weekend, have run all their opponents close so far, but their task is made all the more difficult as star striker Diogo serves a one-match ban.

Graziano Pelle scored the only goal of the game as Shandong saw off Johor Darul Ta’zim to move to the top of Group E two weeks ago. With two games to play, the hosts will also progress with a 1-1 draw or if the game ends goalless.

Shandong, who welcome Dai Lin back from suspension, won their fourth match in a row in all competitions on Saturday as a 2-0 victory over Hebei CFFC moved them to fourth position in the Chinese Super League.

Hayato Araki’s first-half goal claimed a 1-0 win over Daegu FC two weeks ago as Sanfrecce made it three wins on the bounce to move to the top of the standings.

But they have since lost successive games in the J.League and Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Yokohama F. Marinos saw them drop to seventh in the table. Yosuke Minagawa returns from suspension but Hayao Kawabe is serving a one-match ban.

The side from Korea Republic’s early momentum has faded following successive losses at the hands of Sanfrecce Hiroshima as they dropped to third in the table, but with only three points separating the top three sides, there remains all to play for.

A 1-0 win over Sangju Sangmu on Friday, though, made it two wins on the bounce since Daegu’s last game on the Continent as they climbed to third in the K League 1 table.