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.

Al Rayyan had plenty of chances to score but failed to capitalise as Goa, who had limited opportunities upfront, kept their opponents at bay.

Despite the points being shared at their Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium home ground, Ferrando’s charges created history as they announced their arrival into the AFC Champions League group stage.

Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr - semi-finalists last year - dominated the match with 67 percent of possession but they failed to turn their superiority into goals as Jordanian side Al Wehdat earned a historic point in their debut appearance in the group stage of the AFC Champions League.

Foolad looked to have sealed a famous win through Brazilian striker Chimba's 61st minute goal but Al Sadd fought back and were rewarded by Boualem Khoukhi's 89th minute equaliser.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on three points at the very end, Foolad can take heart from their performance and look forward to Saturday's tie against Jordan's Al Wehdat. Al Sadd will face Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr.

All the goals were scored in the second half, with Ashkan Dejagah opening his side’s account from the spot on 53 minutes while teammate Mohammad Abbaszadeh doubled the tally three minutes later.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Pakhtakor mounted a tremendous comeback with Dragan Ceran halving the deficit before Sharof Mukhitdinov’s thunderous strike six minutes later equalised for the Uzbek side. Pakhtakor went a goal up thanks to Hojimat Erkinov before Abbaszadeh converted a penalty for his second goal of the night to restore parity and round off the goal fest in Sharjah.

Spearheaded by a forward in real form, Iranian side Tractor raced to a 2-0 lead, but reigning Uzbekistan Super League champions Pakhtakor would find their way back into the match with a steady and potent passing game. the-AFC.com delves deeper into some of the key talking points from the game.