Appearing in the competition for just the second time and having risen from the second tier of Korean club football just five years ago, Daegu could qualify for the Round of 16 as early as Thursday with the right result against group leaders Kawasaki Frontale.

Even if that match does not go to plan, the team from Korea Republic’s fourth largest city is well-placed to advance to the knockout stage.

Kawasaki beat the Korean outfit 3-2 back on Matchday One, with both teams piling on goals and wins ever since to ensure the three-point lead established by Toru Oniki’s side back then remains in place going into each side's penultimate match in the group.

That means Daegu will have the chance to leapfrog the reigning J1 League champions into the group leadership at Bunyodkor Stadium, putting themselves into an exceptionally strong position to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time in the process .

The two sides opened their campaign against each other in a game that produced two fine strikes and no winner. Stephan Schrock curled in United City’s first-ever AFC Champions League goal in style after 28 minutes, but Liang Shaowen matched him with a sublime free-kick to equalise in the 73rd minute for the young Beijing FC side.

That opening-day point remains the solitary one collected by either of the two teams in a group that pitted them against the vastly more experienced Kawasaki Frontale and Daegu FC.

The two sides could not break the deadlock at the Rajamangala Stadium as Johor Darul Ta’zim ended their 2021 AFC Champions League campaign in third place with four points, two ahead of Ratchaburi.

Pohang’s Boris Tashchy struck late in the game to cancel out Naoki Maeda’s second half goal to deny Nagoya a sixth consecutive victory at the Rajamangala Stadium.

Nagoya ended their campaign with 16 points with Pohang five adrift and needing results elsewhere to go their way if they are to advance to the Round of 16 as one of the three best runners-up from the East zone.

The K League champions beat Thailand’s Chiangrai United 3-1 to win Group H with a game to spare, with all three of their goals coming in a highly efficient first-half display.

Chiangrai managed more possession and more shots on goal in the first half – and racked up 18 attempts for the match as a whole – but it was Jeonbuk who were better in the final third, with Modou Barrow, Hong Jeong-ho and Park Jin-seong all scoring in style.

The two-time champions' 3-1 victory ensured they advanced to the the Round of 16 as Group H winners with a game to spare as the northern Thai side – despite a couple of impressive results in Tashkent – saw their elimination confirmed.

After a decisive night at Lokomotiv Stadium, the-AFC.com looks back at some of the key takeaways from the game.