Goals from Abderrazak Hamdallah and Abdulelah Al Amri either side of half-time put the group hosts within sight of the knockout stage, before Santi Cazorla made for a nervy finale when he pulled a goal back from the penalty spot with seven minutes remaining.

While Al Nassr can look forward to September’s Round of 16, Al Sadd will need to wait until Friday night to see if their final tally of 10 points will be good enough for them to qualify as one of the best three runners-up.

There was only pride on the line for Al Wehdat and Foolad as both sides were out of contention for a place in the knockout stage, but that didn’t stop the two teams from opting for an intense pressing style of play.

Sharjah had secured the top spot in the group and a place in the Round of 16, but Tractor were hopeful a win coupled with other results going their way could keep them in the competition, having gone five games undefeated and collected seven points prior to Thursday.

With both sides already eliminated and playing for pride, Air Force Club went into the match still looking for a first group stage win since 2008, while 2020 AFC Champions League quarter-finalists Pakhtakor looked to sign off with their first win of the current campaign.

With Persepolis FC of the Islamic Republic of Iran having sealed top spot in Group E following an emphatic 4-2 win over Al Rayyan in the earlier match, the best Al Wahda could hope for going into the match against FC Goa was to advance to the Round of 16 as one of the best three second-placed finishers.

They did just that with the win taking Henk ten Cate's side to 13 points which - following the results of other matches on Thursday - assured them of finishing as one of the three best runners-up.

Both are tied on eight with Esteghlal FC, with the Islamic Republic of Iran side playing Iraq's Al Shorta earlier on Friday, with only the group winners assured of advancing to the Round of 16.

The three best runners-up from the five AFC Champions League West groups will also advance, meaning Al Duhail and Al Ahli Saudi will have all to play for even if Esteghlal beat Al Shorta.

FC Istiklol and Al Hilal are both on 10 points going into Matchday Six but the Tajikistan side will seal top spot should they beat AGMK FC, thanks to a better head-to-head against the 2019 AFC Champions League winners.

Thirteen points, however, may well be enough to take Al Hilal through, with the three best runners-up from the five West groups also advancing to the Round of 16.