Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad overcame spirited UAE League champions Al-Wahda 3-0 in Group C courtesy of goals from Abdelmalik Ziaya, Manaf Aboshgair and Paulo Alves, while second half goals from Hadi Aghily and Ahmad Jamshidian handed Iran Pro League runners-up Sepahan a 2-0 win over Qatar's Al-Gharafa to remain top of Group A.

"We started off very badly and the first 20 minutes was very poor football," said Al-Ittihad coach Antonio Oliveria. "However, I have to give credit as my players soon settled down and once they did that they got the first goal and after that it was a good game for us."

With winless duo Bunyodkor and Piroozi doing nothing to help their qualification chances after playing out a goalless draw in Tashkent, 2004 and 2005 champions Al-Ittihad sit seven points clear at the top of the table and know a fourth consecutive win in Qatar in two weeks would secure passage to the last 16 after disastrously failing at the same stage last year.

In Esfahan, Jamshidian's third goal of the tournament sealed the win in spectacular style after Aghily's penalty had opened the scoring to leave Sepahan three points clear of Saudi champions Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Jazira 3-1, but crucially eight clear of Al Gharafa and the UAE League runners-up.

In Group B, Al Sadd pulled three points clear at the top after Lee Jung-soo's deft second-half header was enough to edge out Saudi side Al-Nassr 1-0 in Doha.

Iran's Esteghal leapfrogged Al-Nassr into second place on goal difference after picking up a first win of the campaign after beating winless Uzbek side Pakhtakor 4-2 in Tehran.

Last year's beaten finalists Zobahan of Iran maintained their unbeaten record to remain two points clear at the top of Group D after overpowering 10-man Al Rayyan 3-1 in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabab, meanwhile, opened up a two point cushion over third-placed Emirates after Alhassane Keita scored twice and contributed an assist as the home side recorded an impressive 4-1 win in Riyadh.

In the East, Shin Young-rok and Bae Ki-jong scored as tournament debutants Jeju United recorded a 2-1 comeback win over 2008 winners Gamba Osaka in Group E.

Sota Nakazawa's first half header had broken the deadlock for Gamba, but after Shin slid home seven minutes before the hour mark, Bae fired home from a tight angle 11 minutes later as second placed Jeju moved three points clear of Gamba.

"In the first-half, we made a number of mistakes and it was a very tough game for us so we had to change things in the second-half," said Jeju coach Park Kyung-hoon.

Tianjin Teda still lead the way a point clear of Jeju despite Kevin Muscat's glancing header seven minutes after the break canceling out Marco Zoric's first half opener as Melbourne Victory returned from China with their first point of the campaign to keep their slim qualification hopes alive.

In Group G, Takashi Inui's well-worked second half strike handed Cerezo Osaka a hard-fought 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors as the Japanese side joined the 2006 winners at the top of the table after shrugging off their enforced three week break from competitive action.

"This win is very important to us," said Cerezo manager Levir Culpi. "With this win, we still have a possibility of qualifying for the next stage."

Arema Indonesia picked up their first points of the campaign after Mochamad Fakhrudin's stoppage-time penalty earned a 1-1 draw with Chinese Super League champions Shandong Luneng, who sit two points behind the leaders with three games remaining.

Group H is still wide open after Suwon Samsung Bluewings dropped their first points of the group stage after letting slip a one-goal lead at home to Kashima Antlers, who are still winless in Group H after back-to-back draws although the Emperor's Cup winners do have a game in hand.

A-League champions Sydney, who have also only played two games, and Shanghai Shenhua are also yet to pick up three points after a 1-1 draw in Australia leaves the pair level on points with Kashima three points adrift of Suwon.

Finally in Group F, winless Nagoya Grampus also let slip a one-goal lead at home to draw 1-1 with FC Seoul at Mizunho Stadium.

K-League champions FC Seoul still lead the way with a three-point cushion over Hangzhou Greentown, who was held to a goalless draw at home to Al Ain.

Al Ain of the UAE and Nagoya, though, are in action next week after their planned mid-March meeting was postponed following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan with both sides still seeking a timely first win of the campaign.