The home side came out of the blocks the stronger of the two teams with Adam Le Fondre having three good chances in the opening 12 minutes, but the English striker couldn’t find the target with any of his efforts.

After a scoreless first half against the Iranian side, Benatia headed home the first goal as the hour approached to ease any opening-day nerves, before Youssef El Arabi and substitute Ali Afif both got on the scoresheet as the Qatari champions got off to a perfect start.

For Benatia, who was making his AFC Champions League debut after joining from Juventus, the game brought back memories of when he last faced Iranian opposition, back in June.

Morocco dominated against the Islamic Republic of Iran in their opening match at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, only to concede deep into stoppage time and suffer an agonising 1-0 defeat.

The 1-0 scoreline at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium marked Al Hilal’s first ever victory in Al Ain and also brought an end to a winless run in the competition that had stretched back to the 4-0 victory over Persepolis in the first leg of the 2017 semi-final.

The visitors were the better side throughout and, after Brazilian Carlos Eduardo struck the bar shortly after half-time, Al Hilal’s pressure finally paid off when veteran Al Shalhoub expertly tucked home Mohammed Al Burayk’s cross in the 65th minute.

Injures to a number of key players – including Yuma Suzuki and Leo Silva - forced Oiwa to field a number of young players for his side’s first game in the group phase of the 2019 campaign, but the eight-time J.League champions still picked up all three points in the Group E clash with a 2-1 win.

“This is the first match of the AFC Champions League and we won the three points, that’s all we can take from this game,” said Oiwa. “You never know what’s going to happen in any game in this tournament and that’s something I told our players."

But, while the Southern Tigers made a losing start to the 2019 campaign, head coach Benjamin Mora hailed his players’ performance at the home of the eight-time J.League champions after JDT frustrated Go Oiwa’s side throughout the 90 minutes of their Group E opener.

“We are happy because we made our first appearance in the ACL group stage versus the champions, the last champion that was playing versus Real Madrid, that was playing versus Chivas, and we did very well,” said the Mexican.

The game at Foolad Shahr Stadium marked the first time an Iraqi side had appeared in the competition since Air Force Club and Erbil in 2008.

Al Zawraa spent much of the game on the back foot, with Zobahan posting 24 shots on goal across the 90 minutes, but the Iraqi backline remained resolute to ensure a happy return to a competition they last graced in 2007.

The former Southampton striker, making his first appearance in the competition since the 2016 quarter-finals, was the hero for his side as goals in either half earned a valuable point on the road for the Chinese Super League team.

But having taken a first-half lead, Pelle was disappointed Shandong couldn’t stay in the ascendancy and come away with all three points, especially after they spurned a number of late chances.