For 16 years, Iniesta shone in Europe and on Wednesday Asian fans got a chance to view the now 35-year-old Spanish maestro perform on the their own Continental stage.

And the man from Fuentealbilla did not disappoint.

J.League champions Yokohama put on a commanding performance at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in their Group H Matchday One tie against Korea Republic's reigning club kings Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

The visitors' stranglehold on the match resulted in nearly 68 percent possession with 19 shots on goal, dwarfing their hosts' statistics of 32 percent possession and seven shots respectively. It was an effort, said Endo, that was inspired by their defeat in Saturday's Japanese Super Cup to Vissel Kobe.

Ogawa scored the first, third and fifth goals for Thorsten Fink’s side with Iniesta heavily involved in all three while Kyogo Furuhashi scored arguably the goal of the game to restore Vissel’s lead after Safawi Rashid’s penalty had given JDT a glimmer of hope. Douglas was also on target as Vissel romped to victory.

The Japan international was ruled out of the game due to fever but his absence had little impact on Vissel as Andres Iniesta inspired the Emperor’s Cup winners to a comfortable win, with Keijiro Ogawa scoring a hat-trick as Kobe signaled their intent in the 2020 AFC Champions League.

On a night when two-time title winners Jeonbuk finished the game with nine men, Keita Endo opened the scoring for the visitors before Kim Jin-su’s own goal effectively secured a memorable three-point haul for Ange Postecoglou’s charges.

Swedish forward Toivanen’s penalty midway through the first half proved the difference at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as the Australian side moved to the top of the standings, with both Beijing FC and FC Seoul not in action.

But, while the hosts were the better side, their last win in the competition came back in April 2018 and they picked up just one point in six games in a disastrous 2019 campaign, something their skipper alluded to.

The 2-0 scoreline at Dubai’s Zabeel Stadium on Monday only tells half the story, for this was as convincing a victory as you are likely to see in this year’s competition, with Al Hilal creating chance after chance from start to finish.