A brace from Brazilian forward Igor Jesus nearly dealt a blow to Al Hilal's dreams of advancing to thelast 16 as the Saudi giants finished second behind FC Istiklol of Tajikistan, with the Saudi champions eventually qualifying as one of the three best group runners-up.

As Groups A and C brought the thrilling group stage to a close on Friday, the West Round of 16 cast saw several of the continent's biggest club sides missing out with Qatar's Al Sadd SC and Al Duhail SC and Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli Saudi FC among those who exited the tournament.

Esteghlal owed victory to Malian forward Cheick Diabaté, who scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot for their third win and, more importantly, finish as the Group C winners to seal a place in the Round of 16.

Up next for the Islamic Republic of Iran side are 2019 AFC Champions League winners Al Hilal SFC, with the Round of 16 tie against the Saudi Arabia side scheduled for September.

Michael Olunga scored his ninth goal of the tournament to give Qatar's Al Duhail the lead just after the hour mark but Al Ahli Saudi leveled the tie through Haitham Asiri with less than 20 minutes to go.

The result meant both teams failed to advance, with Islamic Republic of Iran's Esteghlal FC winning the group.

Two second half goals by Zafar Polvonov and Jovan Djokic secured AGMK a 2-1 win over Tajikistan's FC Istiklol as they finished with seven points, just three behind their Central Asian neighbours who emerged group winners.

It was, despite AGMK finishing bottom, an impressive haul as the group also included 2019 AFC Champions League winners Al Hilal SFC of Saudi Arabia and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli Dubai.

The Abu Dhabi-based side advanced to the Round of 16 as one of the best three second-placed finishers, alongside Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis, who finished as group winners after registering a 4-2 win against Qatar’s Al Rayyan.

Al Nassr defeated Qatar's Al Sadd 2-1 in their final Group D match on Thursday, with goals by Abderrazak Hamdallah and Abdulelah Al Amri ensuring Menezes team finished top with 11 points as the 2020 AFC Champions League semi-finalists shrugged off their indifferent domestic form to advance to the knockout stage of the 2021 edition.