Bahrain, whose only title triumph came in the 2019 edition, produced brilliant counter attacking football to seal victory.

While Saudi Arabia dominated the tie, Bahrain's clinical finishing saw them taking a 2-0 lead into the break courtesy of goals from Mahdi Abduljabbar (19th) and Mahdi Faisal (38th).

Herve Renard's Saudi Arabia pressed hard in the second half but had to wait till the 73rd minute to reduce the deficit through Musab Fahz Aljuwayr.

Mohammed Marhoon, however, restored Bahrain's two-goal advantage three minutes later with Saleh Al Shehri's spot-kick in the 86th minute proving to be a mere consolation for three-time champions Saudi Arabia.

Seeking a fifth title, Iraq had to work hard to see off the challenge of a spirited Yemen.

The prolific Aymen Hussein scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute as Iraq kicked off their title defence with a valuable three points.

Up next for Iraq are Bahrain on Wednesday while Yemen will meet Saudi Arabia. Group A action on Tuesday will see Oman facing Qatar while United Arab Emirates will square off against Kuwait.