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.

The two sides had met twice in last year’s group stage, sharing the points in the first leg in Saudi Arabia, while Al Ain emerged 2-1 winners in the UAE.

Al Hilal started strongly and almost found themselves in front within three minutes through Carlos Eduardo. The Brazilian pounced on a loose ball inside the box, but goalkeeper Khaled Eisa made the save.

The home side came racing off the blocks, and nearly got their opening goal within 60 seconds of kick-off. Luiz Junior intercepted the ball in midfield and supplied Shoya Nakajima who advanced down the left and struck from a narrow angle. The Japanese’s shot was saved by Mehdi Rahmati.

Centre-back Ahmed Yasser tested the goalkeeper from distance. His powerful strike seemed destined for the top corner, but Rahmati tipped it behind in the 12th minute.

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.

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.