Winless in two prior matches, the Qatari champions clicked into gear with a blistering three-goal burst in the opening 26 minutes, with Baghdad Bounedjah, Boualem Khoukhi and Hassan Al Haydos all getting on the scoresheet before an Ahmad Sameer penalty sparked an Al Wehdat revival late on.

The result lifts Xavi’s Al Sadd to an improved four points from three matches – one behind group leaders Foolad Khouzestan and Al Nassr – while Al Wehdat remain bottom of Group D with one point at the half-way point of their maiden group stage campaign.

The draw saw Islamic Republic of Iran's Foolad and Al Nassr move up to five points, with the Saudis ahead on goal difference. Qatar's Al Sadd climbed to four points after defeating Al Wehdat of Jordan 3-1 in the other Group D tie on Tuesday.

Both teams came into their first-ever encounter in the competition on the back of goalless draws in the previous game, with Tractor having also drawn their Matchday One fixture against Pakhtakor and Air Force beaten by group hosts Sharjah on the opening day.

The two sides had played out two goalless draws in the previous round of games, with Sharjah successfully consolidating their place at the top of the group with the massive win leaving Pakhtakor bottom of the table.

Victory for the 2018 and 2020 finalists, however, was only achieved after FC Goa created another milestone by scoring their first AFC Champions League goal to take the lead at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium .

Persepolis ultimately proved too strong as they added to the earlier victories against Al Ahli Saudi FC and Al Rayyan SC to open an impressive five-point lead at the top of the standings at the halfway stage.

The experienced central defender rose to meet Abdulla Al Karbi’s cross from the right for the club from the United Arab Emirates, who scored three times in the final 24 minutes to overturn a two-goal deficit and pick up their first win of the campaign.

The five groups are now beginning to take shape and, with a number of key games over the coming days, the race for knockout round qualification has well and truly begun.

As fans of Asian football prepare for another round of fiercely contested match-ups, the-AFC.com has picked five things to look out for.