"It's certainly important that we scored because if went there 1-0 down there would probably be a little bit of a lack of belief, but I thought we thoroughly deserved what we got tonight.”

Melbourne City FC head coach Tony Vidmar did not hide his relief after his side salvaged a 1-1 draw with Buriram United.

“The boys will be hurting at the minute, I can feel that, I can sense it.”

Buriram United head coach Mark Jackson, on the other hand, was frustrated to not have taken an advantage from the tie.

“Tactically, I felt there were no major issues in our response. In the end, however, we were still lacking in finishing. That remains an area we must improve."

Gangwon FC head coach Chung Kyung-ho expects a response from his players after settling for a goalless draw with FC Machida Zelvia.

"While an away win would have been ideal, securing a goalless draw is not a negative result and gives us a clear direction heading into the next match."

Machida head coach Go Kuroda expects his side to finish the job at home.

"It was a good result for us and I’m happy with it but we all know that the match next week will be as difficult as it was today.”

Michael Skibbe knows his side can't just depend on home ground advantage in the return leg against FC Seoul.

“It would have been even more disappointing if this had been our last match, but we have another chance."

Seoul head coach Kim Gi-dong wants his players to give the return leg their best.

“But we will take the positives from today because it is a great result against a very good team but we have to now put this aside and look to get a good result next week so that we can create history for the club.”

Head coach Xisco Munoz heaped praise on his players after Johor Darul Ta’zim took a significant step towards a place in the quarter-finals with victory against Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

"As for overturning the two-goal deficit, I honestly don’t think it’s an impossible margin to overcome."

Head coach Bartosch Gaul believes Sanfrecce will overturn the two-goal deficit at home.