The two sides had played out a thrilling 3-3 draw on Tuesday, with Al Ain taking the lead and Al Sadd equalising twice, before the Qataris took the lead at the hour mark through Baghdad Bounedjah, but a Boualem Khoukhi own goal ensured the points were shared in the competition’s joint highest scoring game to date.

The draw meant inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain took their first point of the current edition but remained in fourth place, while Al Sadd conceded the Group D top spot to Al Nassr, dropping to second with six points.

The Australian forward joined Al Taawoun from J-League side Shimizu S-Pulse in August and made his AFC Champions League debut in the team’s 1-0 defeat to Persepolis on Tuesday.

Chances were few and far between on the night, but Duke had the biggest of them for the Saudi side when his effort from five yards out was rescued by goalkeeper Hamed Lak and the former Western Sydney Wanderers forward saw his attempt from the rebound denied again by the Persepolis goalkeeper.

Striker Abderrazak Hamdallah settled matters with a brace at the Jassem bin Hamad stadium on Tuesday, scoring either side of the half time break while teammate Brad Jones pulled off a number of saves to stave off a late rally by the Iran Pro League side.

The result helped the 2018/19 Saudi Pro League champions leapfrog Al Sadd SC to first place in the group on seven points, while it left Sepahan in third place with three points and needing a win in Friday’s rematch to avoid falling out of contention for a Round of 16 spot.

It was high octane action from the first blow of the referee's whistle in Doha on Monday as Asia's finest resumed their campaigns in the continent's biggest club tournament.

Seventeen goals were scored in the seven matches that were played in Groups A to D as the fans watching the action on their television screens were treated to a goal fest.

Join the-AFC.com as we pay tribute to the players who lit up Matchday 3 with their goal-scoring exploits.

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.

Kodjo Laba opened the scoring for Al Ain early on. 2019 AFC Footballer of the Year Akram Afif equalised on 35 minutes, shortly before Bauyrzhan Islamkhan hammered home a contender for goal of the tournament to put Al Ain ahead before half time.

A debut goal from Santi Cazorla followed by a Baghdad Bounedjah tap-in put Al Sadd ahead before friendly fire from Boualem Khoukhi put the game back on equal terms. The result meant Al Sadd slipped down to second place on five points after Al Nassr managed a win against Sepahan FC, while Al Ain took their first point of the campaign yet remained bottom of the group, four points off second place.

The two sides went into the game with contrasting fortunes, with Al Ain needing to pick up points after opening their campaign with two losses while Al Sadd needed to consolidate their position at the top of Group D.