Persepolis came racing out of the blocks and within two minutes they were in front after Ehsan Pahlevan displayed great skill to get past two players down the left and cross for Shojae Khalilzadeh who headed home his second goal of the campaign.

The two sides had met on Matchday Two, when Al Taawoun scored a 2-0 home win courtesy of goals from Mohamed Al Sahlawi and Abdulmajeed Al Swat.

Sepahan had already been eliminated, having collected just four points from their previous five games, while Al Sadd had booked their place in the Round of 16 with a game to spare.

Al Sadd coach Xavi made 10 changes to his starting XI that played out a 1-1 draw against Al Nassr three days earlier, with only centre-back Tarek Salman retaining his place in the team, before being swapped for Abdelkarim Hassan at half time.

The previous match between the two sides took place on Matchday Two, when Al Nassr took the three points at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium after a 2-1 win.

The Iranian giants went into the game against group winners Al Ahli knowing that a win by any other scoreline aside from 1-0 would guarantee their progression into the knockout stages ahead of Iraq's Al Shorta.

Dominant from the off, there seemed little doubt after Esteghlal took the lead just before the half hour and, 3-0 up before the 60-minute mark, Majid Namjoo-Motlagh's side ultimately cruised into the last 16.

Under the guidance of assistant coach Pieter Huistra, the Uzbek champions secured their first win since Matchday Two thanks to a second-half Jaloliddin Masharipov strike to progress as group leaders ahead of Shabab Al Ahli Dubai FC.

Pakhtakor play Islamic Republic of Iran's Esteghlal FC in the Round of 16 on Saturday, in what will be their first AFC Champions League knockout stage appearance in a decade.

The Jeddah giants went into the match with their place in the knockout stage already secured but were undone by goals from Mehdi Ghaedi, Ali Karimi and Cheick Diabaté as the Islamic Republic of Iran club joined them in advancing from Group A.

Despite the defeat, the Saudi Arabia Pro League side finished top of Group A and will play Group B runners-up Shabab Al Ahli Dubai while Esteghlal will face Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor.