Shandong Luneng’s 1-0 victory over Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim, meanwhile, moved the Chinese side a point ahead of Kashima at the top to the table as Group E now looks set to go down to the wire.

“I think we had chances to win but we couldn’t maintain our good attacking play throughout the match,” said the 30-year-old midfielder.

“We conceded the goal in the second half from a cross, so that’s very disappointing for us, as was the end result.”

Prior to the defeat, Kashima had not lost in the competition in nine games, with their run stretching back to the second leg of the 2018 Round of 16 when Shanghai SIPG claimed a 2-1 win that ultimately proved inconsequential as the Japanese side advanced.

But Gyeongnam had given the holders a shock in the first meeting between the pair in Korea Republic two weeks ago before surrendering a two-goal lead as Kashima netted twice in stoppage time to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.

If the Ibaraki team had won the reverse fixture on Wednesday they would have secured their qualification to the knockout rounds but, as it turns out, they will now be desperate for a result in their away game with JDT in two weeks’ time. 

“We had to win to qualify for the knockout stage, but we couldn't keep our concentration for 90 minutes and made many mistakes,” added Nagaki.

“There's still a chance for us to get into the next round so all we can do now is look forward to the next match. It’s important for us to shift our focus to that game.”