Sho Sasaki was credited with the goal that ensured Hiroshi Jofuku’s side would go through to the Round of 16 for only the second time in the club’s history and for the first since 2014 while Guangzhou will have to wait another two weeks to learn their fate.

Fabio Cannavaro’s side are now in third place in Group F, one point behind Daegu FC from Korea Republic, with the two clubs due to face off at Guangzhou’s Tianhe Stadium on May 22 in a game the 2013 and 2015 champions must win to stay alive in this year’s competition.

Edgar, Jeong Tae-wook, Kim Dae-won and Jung Seon-ho were all on target for Daegu and the K League side now trail Sanfrecce Hiroshima – who are guaranteed a place in the last 16 following their win over Guangzhou Evergrande – by three points.

However, the victory moved Daegu ahead of the former Chinese Super League champions by a point going into their crucial clash at Tianhe Stadium in two weeks’ time and a draw will be enough in that contest for the Korean FA Cup holders to advance to the last 16.

Urawa, winners in 2007 and 2017, picked up all three points to move level on seven points with Beijing FC in Group G, with the two teams due to face off at Saitama Stadium 2002 in a winner-takes-all Matchday Six showdown.

Shinzo Koroki and Yuki Muto scored either side of Pedro Junior’s equaliser for Buriram United and Urawa will now battle Beijing for second place in the standings after Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors sealed top spot in the group.

Ali Asad and Akram Afif scored inside the opening 15 minutes and Omar Al Somah pulled one back for Al Ahli in the second half in Doha as the hosts sealed the three points to book their place in the knock-out stage with a game to spare.

With qualification confirmed, the 2011 AFC Champions League winners can now take a breather following a busy season in which they lifted the Qatar Stars League title for the first time in six years and reached the Emir Cup semi-final just four days ahead of their win over Al Ahli.

Having gone three games without a goal in the 2019 AFC Champions League, powerful forward Hulk roared back into form at the perfect moment for Shanghai SIPG with a fine brace to keep their destiny in their hands going into the final Group H tie on May 21.

Defeat to hosts Kawasaki would have seen the Chinese club needing to rely not only on three points from the Matchday Six tie away at group winners Ulsan Hyundai, but also results to go their way in the match between Sydney FC and Kawasaki in Australia.

It was Kim who rolled the deflected pass into Diskerud’s path that allowed the striker to nonchalantly knock his effort past Andrew Redmayne to earn all three points from a tight encounter with the A-League side.

And while Diskerud earned the plaudits, he was left in doubt by his teammate was due some of the credit for his goal.

Kim Shin-wook scored the only goal of a demanding game as Jeonbuk collected all three points to guarantee themselves top spot in Group G with one round of matches remaining in the group phase.

And the fact the K League leaders were able to come out of the game unscathed encouraged the Portuguese coach, despite seeing his side miss a number of chances to put the result beyond doubt.