The Bahraini side started their campaign with a narrow 1-0 win against group hosts Al Salt, with talisman Ismail Abdullatif rounding the goalkeeper to score the winner just before the break to mark their return to the competition with the three points.

Al Ansar opened their 2021 AFC Cup campaign with a 2-0 win against Palestine’s Balata Center thanks to goals from Mahmoud Kojok and Hassan Maatouk in the second half, allowing them to top the group on goal difference ahead of Bahrain’s Muharraq Club who narrowly defeated Al Salt 1-0 in Matchday One.

The competition’s joint-record winners with three titles to their name surrendered their lead three times to settle for a 3-3 draw against debutants Tishreen on Friday, while Al Ama’ari Center suffered a 2-0 defeat against Jordanian powerhouse Al Faisaly in Matchday One.

The two-time AFC Cup winners opened their campaign with a 2-0 win against Palestine’s Al Ama’ari Center courtesy of Oday Zahran’s deflected shot and an Ahmad Ersan effort late in the second half. On the other hand, Tishreen played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Kuwait SC on their debut, securing a point with an equaliser eight minutes into injury time in the second half.

The two sides have faced off on four different occasions - in the 2014 AFC Cup, Al Hidd did the double over their Syrian opponents, winning 3-1 and 4-1. Three years later, they were drawn in the same group again with Al Wahda winning 1-0 in Bahrain and Al Hidd responding with a 2-0 triumph in the reverse fixture.

Ahal FC and FC Nasaf achieved perfect winning records to advance to the Zonal finals, but players from across Central Asia emerged as outstanding contributors in Groups E and F, and we’ve selected six of the best.

With players from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan on the list, study our standout players and vote for your favourite.

Winning their fifth title will be a much needed boost as Kitchee prepare to make their debut in the 2021 AFC Champions League, where they are drawn with Guangzhou FC of China PR, Thailand's Port FC and a playoff winner in Group J, and are scheduled to kick off their campaign on June 24 in Buriram, Thailand.

Eastern Long Lions, meanwhile, will take the defeat as an important lesson before they participate in Group J of the 2021 AFC Cup next month, where they will take on Chinese Taipei's Tainan City FC, Mongolia's Athletic 220 FC and fellow domestic rivals Lee Man.