The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the matchday squad and Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic and Kingsley Coman on the bench did not hamper Al Nassr as the starting XI head coach Jorge Jesus placed his faith in got cracking immediately.

Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s fourth minute cross caused mayhem in the box before eventually being claimed by Istiklol goalkeeper Nicola Stocic before Haroune Camara lifted wide after being put through by Joao Felix.

The opening goal came in the 14th minute when a deflection off the unfortunate Kirilll Suslov saw Ghareeb striking a precise shot into the bottom corner.

The tricky Ghareeb then showed a good turn of pace three minutes later to skip past Marlen Chobanov before cutting back for Angelo to fire home.

Under pressure for most of the first half, Istiklol were nearly gifted a way back in the 40th minute when Ghareeb - in tracking back - misplaced a pass in his own box straight to Manuchehr Dzhalilov who blazed his shot high over the bar.

Al Nassr’s dominance continued after the break with Wesley adding the third just before the hour mark, beating three Istiklol players before powering a shot through a sea of legs into the bottom corner.

The trio of Mane, Brozovic and Coman then came on shortly after with the latter duo combining in the 89th minute with Coman smashing home his first continental goal before Mane put the seal on a comfortable win with the fifth in stoppage time.

Next up for Al Nassr will be an away tie against Iraq’s Al Zawraa SC while Istiklol host FC Goa of India, with both matches to be played on October 1.