Wei Shihao's first-half strike and a late own-goal from Zheng Zheng at Tianhe Stadium sees Guangzhou 2-1 in front on aggregate in the lead-up to Tuesday's second leg, but Zhang's fine angled strike that reduced the deficit does give Shandong a vital edge and an extra dimension to the clash of countrymen.

And the midfielder is adamant that the tie is still tightly poised.

With injuries to superstar attacker Talisca and veteran forward Gao Lin having ruled the pair out since mid-May, the two-time AFC Champions League winners were relieved to see Wei show no ill-effects from his recent lay-off and help Guangzhou secure an important advantage in their last 16 showdown with countrymen Shandong.

Moon Seon-min gave Jeonbuk a dream start when Jose Morais’ side took the lead with less than a minute on the clock only for Wang Shenchao to level the scores six minutes before half-time with a close range header.

But Moon’s goal means a goalless draw next week at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium will be enough for the 2006 and 2016 winners to advance to the last eight of the competition for the ninth time in their history.

Guangzhou managed to mute the duo for much of the 90 minutes at Tianhe Stadium on Tuesday evening as the two-time champions ran out 2-1 winners in the all-Chinese Super League encounter and a draw will now be enough for Evergrande to advance to the last eight for the sixth time in eight seasons.

Wei Shihao put two-time champions Guangzhou Evergrande in front 10 minutes before halftime but a stunning strike from Zhang Chi midway through the second period earned Shandong an away goal ahead of next week’s clash in Jinan.

But Yang’s effort in the 80th minute which took a deflection off Shandong defender Zheng Zheng means Guangzhou are 90 minutes away from booking their place in the last eight of the competition for the sixth time in eight seasons.

The clash at Kashima Soccer Stadium paired the two sides against Japanese opposition for the first time ever in the Continental competition and it was Sanfrecce who went into the game as the form team having won five in a row in the group stage.

But in a closely contested match it was defending champions Kashima who gained the upper hand after Brazilian Serginho scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half following excellent work from Doi.

The 24-year-old had been out of action in recent weeks, missing China PR’s games against the Philippines and Tajikistan, but returned for the 2-0 victory over Shanghai SIPG on Friday and then played a crucial role in the win over domestic rivals Shandong in the 2019 AFC Champions League.

Having missed a gilt-edged opportunity early in the game, Wei put the two-time winners in front in the 35th minute and was then quick to show his appreciation to doctor Silvano Cotti, running straight to the bench to embrace the Italian.