New signing Ramin Rezaeian struck the pick of the goals to send Al Duhail 2-0 up early in the second half after Almoez Ali had taken the lead for the Qataris in the 40th minute.

An Igor Coronado penalty would prove to be merely consolation for Sharjah as coach Walid Regragui’s men held out for the three points.

Doha: Abderrazak Hamdallah from Al Nassr has been named the Toyota Player of the Week for Matchday 3 of the 2020 AFC Champions League (West).

Hamdallah netted both goals in the Saudi side's 2-0 win over Sepahan on Tuesday. The Moroccan is now top scorer in the tournament with four goals from three matches.

The Qatar champions registered their second win in the group with the 2019 AFC Asian Cup top scorer opening the scoring before Rami Rezaeian added the second with Igor Coronado pulling a goal back for Sharjah from the penalty spot.

While Ali stressed that getting the three points was important, he said Al Duhail's superior performance meant they should have scored more goals at the Education City Stadium.

Sharjah went into the game in pursuit of their first win in the AFC Champions League since 2004, having collected one point from their first two games.

Al Duhail, meanwhile, were looking to make amends having lost to Al Taawoun on Matchday Two to freeze at three points.

A brace from Moroccan Abderrazak Hamdallah either side of the halftime break secured the points at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium even as Sepahan rallied late on to try and salvage something from the game but to no avail.

Al Nassr top Group D with seven points from three games, having extended their unbeaten run in the 2020 edition to three games, but the task is far from over for the Riyadh based side at the halfway point of the group stage, according to manager Vitoria.

A late goal from Shojae Khalilzadeh goal gave the Islamic Republic of Iran side their first win of the competition and moved them to two points behind Al Taawoun, who remained on top despite the defeat.

Resan said Persepolis' runaway victory in the Iran Pro League fuelled their desire to get the win.

With a draw looking the likeliest possibility at Al Janoub Stadium deep into stoppage time, midfielder Hattan Bahebri’s deflected shot settled matters against a 10-man Pakhtakor.

The result took defending champions Al Hilal to the top of Group B on nine points, with their opponents staying put in second place with six points. Should the reigning champions defeat Pakhtakor again on Thursday, they will guarantee progression to the Round of 16.