With expectation now high that Persija can reach the knockout stage, the-AFC.com caught up with club legend Bambang Pamungkas to find out the striker’s views on his side's chances in the continental competition.

The 49,056 spectators who turned up at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were not disappointed, and neither will you be with the-AFC.com's weekly look at the stats and facts that stood out on the continent.

Persija were too hot for the Singaporeans to handle at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, with the hosts dominating from start to finish despite going down to 10 men early in the second half.

Simic solely focused on shots

The Croatian striker put Persija 1-0 up in the 12th minute at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, slamming Riko Simanjuntak’s cut back from the right under goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari to give the hosts the early initiative.

Rezaldi Hehanusa then doubled his side’s advantage four minutes before half time, cutting inside from the left wing before rifling home with his right foot from 20 yards.

Persija centre-back Jaime was dismissed for a second yellow card in just the 48th minute, but two more Simic strikes in the 74th and 86th minutes sandwiched a 77th-minute consolation for Tampines from Khairul Amri to ensure the 10 men left with all three points.

Next, Persija travel to Vietnam to take on Group H leaders Song Lam Nghe An FC, while Matchday 3 will also see Tampines host Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on March 6.

Phan Van Duc struck the opener at Vinh Stadium in the 22nd minute, beating the offside trap to latch onto Ho Khac Ngoc’s dinked through ball before rounding goalkeeper Mohd Farizal and tucking home.

The hosts then defended resolutely in the second half to prevent 2015 AFC Cup champions Darul Ta'zim from finding a way back into the game, with Luciano Figueroa’s 82nd-minute free-kick the closest they came to equalising.

Pham Xuan Manh then wrapped up the win for Song Lam Nghe An on a quick counter attack in the fourth minute of added-on time to ensure his side sit pretty at the top of the group on maximum points after their first two games.

Both teams’ next matches come on March 6, when Song Lam Nghe An host Persija Jakarta and Darul Ta'zim travel to Singapore to take on Tampines Rovers.

The home side fans enjoyed a spectacular victory and had much to celebrate as Persija claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win over the visitors, courtesy of Marko Simic’s hat-trick and a thunderbolt from Rezaldi Hehanusa.

The match on Wednesday ranks third overall in terms of AFC Cup spectatorship history and is just shy of the Kingfisher East Bengal and Kuwait SC semi-final in 2013 which saw 50,000 spectators attend.