The Brazilian tactician oversaw a comfortable win despite making 10 changes to his starting line-up although the J-League side laboured until Mutsuki Kato opened the scoring for Cerezo 12 minutes before the end of the first half.

From there the Japanese club showed the gulf in class between themselves and the inexperienced Chinese side with Kato scoring a second while Taishi Matsumoto also netted twice and Tiago Pagnussat came off the bench to claim his third goal of the campaign so far.

Boris Tashchy's equaliser denied Group G winners Nagoya their sixth consecutive victory and it is a result which means Pohang may yet make it to the Round of 16 as one of the three best runners-up.

With their group stage campaign over, Pohang must however wait for the final standings of the remaining four groups while Nagoya can start planning for the knockout stage.

The result meant Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim finished third on four points, two ahead of Ratchaburi of Thailand. Nagoya Grampus of Japan won the group to seal their place in the Round of 16 while Korea Republic side Poahng Steelers will have to wait to know whether they will advance into the knockout stage as one of the three best runners-up.

With Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors having confirmed top spot after defeating Chiangrai United 3-1 in Wednesday's late match, Gamba Osaka's knockout stage fate now depends on the Japanese side advancing as one of the three best runners-up from the East zone.

Tampines Rovers, meanwhile, put in a tenacious performance having lost their previous two games against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors with a combined 13 goals to none and were rewarded with their first-ever AFC Champions League goal with Daniel Bennett finding the back of the net in the 27th minute.

Ulsan, who are on a 13-match winning streak in the AFC Champions League, lead Group F with 12 points and a win on Thursday will keep them in the driver's seat to book a place in the Round of 16. Thailand's BG Pathum United are second on nine points while Viettel are no longer in contention for a place in the knockout stage with just three points to their name.

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.