The Abu Dhabi side reached the AFC Champions League knock-out stage for the first time in 12 years. And on Tuesday, they confirmed their place as group winners after snatching a 1-1 draw at Al Ittihad in their last group game.

Al Wahda’s last appearance in the knock-out stages saw them reach the semi-finals in 2007 before losing to Sepahan 3-1 on aggregate.

Both teams had already qualified to the knockout stage prior to the game, and the top spot in Group B was at stake. Al Wahda occupied the spot with 12 points going into the match, while Al Ittihad sat second, two points behind.

A pacey and clinical striker at his peak, Majidi was a key member of the Al Ain side that lifted the inaugural AFC Champions League in 2002-03.

In the semi-final against China PR’s Dalian Shide, Al Ain had won the first leg at home 4-2, but the Chinese side had clawed the difference, winning 4-2 in Dalian. That is until Majidi received the ball on the edge of the area, dribbled past one defender and finished into the bottom corner to send his side to the final with a 7-6 aggregate score.

The former Chelsea star claimed a hat-trick in a virtuoso display for the Chinese Super League champions, who claimed second place in Group H at the expense of J.League champions Kawasaki Frontale.

The win means Shanghai will take on Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the next round and Pereira was delighted with his team’s performance.

There is a feeling amongst those at Urawa Red Diamonds of unfinished business at the AFC Champions League. Winners in 2017, the Reds were unable to qualify for the 2018 edition and thus never had the opportunity to retain their title.

The return to the Continental competition this year has, instead, been perceived as a belated defence of the championship they memorably lifted at Saitama Stadium after a victory over Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal.

And that aim, admitted Koroki, was a key motivating factor in the winner-take-all clash with Beijing FC on Matchday Six.

Yasuto Wakizaka scored twice and there were goals for Ao Tanaka and Leandro Damiao but, with Shanghai SIPG claiming all three points in their meeting with Ulsan Hyundai, the Japanese club finished third in Group H and were left to wonder what might have been for another year.

“The performances at home take on extra significance in the AFC Champions League,” said Oniki, who has guided the club to back-to-back domestic titles. “That's what I learned from this tournament.

The 39-year-old midfield genius, who helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010 and won four UEFA Champions League titles and eight La Liga titles with Barcelona, was cheered by fans at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran where already-eliminated Persepolis produced an improved display to register only their second win in six matches.