Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad had qualified directly to the group stage, but the Riyadh-based club had to navigate a play-off first to join the rest of the kingdom’s ‘Big four’.

The debutants from Uzbekistan had two clear-cut chances in an otherwise compact first half at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium in the Saudi capital.

The Iranian side had to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second half to progress to the group stage.

Al Gharafa broke the deadlock halfway through the opening period after midfielder Abdelaziz Hatim chested down a long pass and set up fellow Qatar international Ahmed Alaaeldin who fired first time with his left into the top corner for the hosts’ first of the game.

Alaaeldin turned from scorer to provider in the 36th minute, laying off the ball to Mehdi Taremi who slid home from the edge of the penalty box to double the Qatari side’s lead before the break.

The home crowd at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium were left stunned as Saipa took an early lead inside four minutes as Mohammadreza Soleiman nodded the ball on to the path of Arman Ramezani who capitalised on a defensive mix-up to stab home the opener.

Three minutes later, Lucca Borges tested goalkeeper Hossein AKbarmonadi from distance, but the Saipa custodian was alert to the danger.

In a game that saw three penalties awarded for handballs, it was the Uzbeks who emerged victorious at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.

The hosts came racing off the blocks and had their first clear sight of goal when Brazilian Junior Dutra watched his second-minute header saved by the goalkeeper.

Pakhtakor responded swiftly as Jaloliddin Masharipov supplied a through pass for Bikmaev whose effort from a tight angle gave goalkeeper Ibrahim Essa his first test of the night.

Chiangrai had the first sight on goal inside 10 minutes at a saturated Hiroshima Athletic Stadium when Brazilian defender Brinner headed Lee Yong-rae’s corner from the left straight at goalkeeper Keisuke Osako.

Hiroshima were then given the perfect chance to open the scoring in the 10th minute when Tanasak Srisai handled Yusuke Minagawa’s goal bound effort and the referee pointed to the spot, only for Minagawa to see his ensuing spot kick well saved by custodian Saranon Anuin.

After Hwang Il-su went off with an early injury, his replacement Kim In-sung could have opened the scoring in the ninth minute but dragged his shot narrowly wide after bursting into the penalty area with intent.

But the hosts then did go in front midway through the half when Kim Tae-hwan broke into the box after a lovely give-and-go with Kim Bo-kyung and his cross was diverted into his own net by the unfortunate Amirul Azhan.

The lively Kim In-sung struck a low effort from outside the penalty area just minutes later but Perak goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim was equal to the challenge and tipped wide for a corner.

Despite being crowned Asia’s club kings last November, Kashima’s third place finish in the 2018 J.League season meant they had to earn their place in this year’s Group Stage with the visit of the A-League side.

And they got their continental campaign off to a positive start in front of a noisy home support when Leo Silva’s shot was re-directed with a backheeled flick by Serginho, only to see Newcastle custodian Glen Moss push the ball onto the post.