The 2018 finalists took the lead for the first time this campaign after 18 minutes with what was the first real chance of the match.

Al Ahli's defence failed to deal with a long throw-in from Mehdi Shiri and defender Shojae Khalilzadeh was in the right spot and went for the spectacular, volleying home from inside the box past a helpless Mohammed Al Owais.

Two minutes later, Ahmad Noorollahi tried his luck for Persepolis from distance, but his shot missed by inches.

The recently crowned Qatar Stars League champions came into the match having ended a four-match winless run in the competition. Meanwhile, Pakhtakor hoped to stay unbeaten on top of the group with a home win.

Both sides made their attacking intents clear from the start and Pakhtakor’s Jaloliddin Masharipov tested the goalkeeper from distance just 90 seconds into the match.

Al Sadd’s first sight of goal came quickly after and it was decisive as Baghdad Bounedjah supplied a low cross for Xavi who curled it from the edge of the box into the top corner to open the scoring for the visitors in the sixth minute.

The victory takes Shandong second in Group E, two points behind leaders Kashima Antlers, while JDT remain at the bottom of the standings with just one point.

On a cold and rainy night the home side were searching for their first win of the campaign after draws in their previous two Group E encounters with Shandong Luneng and Johor Darul Ta’zim.

It was the visitors who had the first clear shot on goal in the ninth minute when Koki Anzai found space on the edge of the area, but the defender lashed his shot wide of the mark.

The victory not only earned the Korean side three points, but it also saw them leapfrog their opponents in Group G.

Jeonbuk piled on some early pressure and Ricardo Lopes tested Shusaku Nishikawa with a powerful strike from 20 yards in the sixth minute.

Two minutes later, the Brazilian tricked his way past several challenges and played a one-two with Lim Seon-yeong before firing a shot just over.

With a perfect four wins from four in the Chinese Super League, the Chinese club were looking to bring their domestic form onto the Continental stage and they made the perfect start when Bakambu opened the scoring in just the second minute after turning in a low cross from Li Lei.

The home side looked to respond and had a flurry of chances midway through the first half with Pedro Junior, Supachai Jaided and Supachok Sarachart all seeing their efforts denied by a determined Beijing defence.

Melbourne have endured a disappointing start to their Group F campaign, losing successive games to Korea Republic’s Daegu FC and Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima to leave them propping up the table, three points behind two-time champions Guangzhou and six off top spot.

The Australian side have struggled on the road over the years in the AFC Champions League and have yet to record a victory in 20 attempts, meaning three points at Tianhe Stadium would be regarded as a huge turn up for the books.