The Emirati club pulled out all the stops in their search a goal, but were denied time and time again as Tajikistan's Istiklol defended resolutely for a share of the points at the King Fahd Stadium.

Appearing in the group stage of Asia’s premier club competition for the first time, Istiklol defied expectations to keep Mahdi Ali’s talented attacking line-up at bay in their opening Group A encounter.

In addition to making Istiklol the first team from Tajikistan to win an AFC Champions League point, the result keeps Group A’s teams on even keel after Al Hilal and AGMK drew 2-2 in Thursday’s other clash.

Esteghlal cruised to the resounding win at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium thanks to a brace from Mehdi Ghayedi, with Farshid Esmaeili, Mohammad Naderi and substitute Cheick Diabaté notching one goal each with Omar Al Soma scoring both of Al Ahli’s goals.

Going into the Group A tie as outsiders, AGMK came within a whisker of defeating the 2019 AFC Champions League winners, with Zafar Polvonov giving them an 11th minute lead.

An own goal by Sardor Rakhmanov (27th) and Luciano Vietto's 36th minute strike meant Al Hilal took the lead going into the break but Sanjar Shaakhmedov scored in the 70th to ensure AGMK ended the night with their first AFC Champions League point.

Goals from Michael Olunga and Edmilson Junior steered the Qataris to a perfect start against Iraq’s Al Shorta at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Thursday, with Lamouchi's only regret being the margin of victory which he felt should have been higher.

The Iraqi side were in control for extended spells of the first half but were unable to unlock Sharjah’s defence and ultimately paid the price as they came undone an hour into the proceedings with a swift counter-attack allowing Caio to find Khalid Bawazir at the far post to slot home the winner for the home side.

An opening day victory for head coach Abdulaziz Al Anbari’s men puts them in Group B’s driving seat after the earlier Matchday One fixture ended in a 3-3 draw between Pakhtakor and Tractor FC.

A first-half strike from captain Seyyed Jalal Hosseini gave the Iranian giants the edge over Al Wahda as Golmohammadi’s men collected maximum points at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.