Much of the hype ahead of Shanghai and Urawa's first meeting revolved around the former's new headline trio of attackers as Brazilians Hulk and Oscar were joined by former West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic, making his debut in Asia's premier club competition.

However, the man who made the biggest impact in the first half was none of the three but instead all-action 27-year-old Nagasawa who had a hand in both of Urawa's opening goals that stunned the hosts. First his free-kick was forced home by Tomoaki Makino, and then it was his incisive pass that picked out striker Shinzo Koroki to double the lead.

Today (September 12) marks two years to the day since the Chinese giants clashed in one of the most dramatic second-leg encounters in the competition’s history on a truly memorable night at theTianhe Stadium. The-AFC.com looks back at how events unfolded.

Whether on international duty, jetting off far and wide or simply enjoying some downtime with their families, the players still involved in the Continental competition have remained active on social media, though. Here's the-AFC.com's look at some of the highlights.

Back in 2007, Robson Ponte was Urawa’s top scorer as the Reds became the first Japanese team to lift the AFC Champions League when they overcame the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Sepahan in the final after a 2-0 win at Saitama Stadium secured a 3-1 aggregate victory.

So often the setting for dramatic encounters, Saitama – where Urawa also won the 2017 title – will play host to the quarter-final second leg against Shanghai SIPG on Tuesday and, with the score tied at 2-2 after the first leg, Ponte is confident the two-time winners have what it takes to advance past the Chinese champions.

The-AFC.com highlights the ins and outs across the Continent.

Photo: Al Nassr

Kuala Lumpur: Giuliano has been named as the Toyota Player of the Week after the striker scored in Al Nassr's 2-1 victory over Qatar's Al Sadd on Monday to help his side take a slim advantage in the first leg of their 2019 AFC Champions League quarter-final.

After teammate Abdulrahman Al Dossari had cancelled out Ali Asad's first half opener, Giuliano headed home a well-worked team move on 72 minutes to give Al Nassr a vital lead to take to Doha on September 16.

As well as his goal, which came from one of his five shots on target, Giuliano created five chances for teammates and made 54 passes, 48 of which were completed, as he earned an 8.1 rating.

Another Saudi Arabia-based player, Abdullah Al Mayoof (below), came in second in this week’s rankings after the Al Hilal goalkeeper kept a cleansheet in the 0-0 stalemate with fierce rivals Al Ittihad.