Head coach Choi Kang-hee had anticipated difficulties for his injury-hit squad but they shrugged off the absence of Giovanni Moreno and Kim Shin-wook, ending a 15-match winless streak in the competition with goals from Peng Xinli and Yu Hanchao.

Perth, who pulled a goal back in the final 10 minutes through Jonathan Aspropotamitis, are now winless in two outings, giving them little margin for error in the remaining four matches of their maiden group stage appearance.

Shanghai SIPG were coming into their campaign opener against an FC Sydney side they had played twice and drew on both occasions last term, while Steve Corica’s men had collected one point from two games in the competition and were in desperate need for a victory to stay in contention.

With some of their biggest names unavailable, the Chinese club scored twice before half-time before surviving a late Perth surge to secure their first win in their 2020 campaign, and their first in the competition since 2009.

But while it was Shenhua’s blistering start which secured them the points, two-time AFC Champions League winner Choi was also pleased with the way his charges saw out the game, played four days after their arrival in the Qatari capital.

The Chinese Super League side had seen their February fixtures postponed as the COVID-19 pandemic had already spread in Shanghai, meaning they arrived in Doha with six games still to play, the first of which saw them face Australia’s Perth Glory who sat bottom of Group F with no points from one game.

Maldivian star Ashfaq's solo goal - one of five he scored in that match - for New Radiant against Persibi Bojonegoro in the 2013 AFC Cup saw him defeat Hanoi FC's Vietnam international Nguyen Quang Hai in the semi-final.

Ashfaq polled 54.68 % of the votes to see of Quang Hai's challenge.

Chan's goal against Malaysia's Pahang sealed the tie for South China AA and the former Hong Kong international will now face off against Ali Ashfaq of Maldives side New Radiant in the final which kicks off on Wednesday.

From youngsters making their way in the international game to long-time veterans, we’ve picked 10 of the best performers over the last 10 days, now it’s up to you to determine the standout player.

Here are our contenders for the November international window.