KUALA LUMPUR: A brilliant second-half display by Pohang Steelers saw them thump 10-man Shanghai Port 3-0 on Tuesday in the AFC Champions League Elite on a great night for South Korean clubs.

Fellow K-League 1 side Gwangju FC went to the top of the East Zone table in the rebranded competition by edging Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 in Japan.

Thailand’s Buriram United, meanwhile, defeated Australian champions Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in Gosford to pick up their first win of the campaign while Johor Darul Ta’zim beat visitors Shanghai Shenhua 3-0 in Malaysia.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli maintained their perfect start in the West Zone as goals from Riyad Mahrez and Roger Ibanez sealed a 2-0 win over UAE champions Al-Wasl while Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan.

Qatar’s Al-Sadd defeated Iran’s Esteghlal 2-0 as Persepolis and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan drew 1-1 in Tashkent.

The AFC Champions League Elite features 24 teams — 12 from West Asia and 12 from East Asia. With each club playing four matches at home and four away, the top eight in each side of the draw progress to the knockout stages early next year.

Gwangju, who hammered last season’s beaten finalists Yokohama F. Marinos 7-3 in their opening game, had a tougher time against Japanese opposition this week with Jasir Asani’s 21st minute penalty earning Lee Jung-hyo’s side another three points in the league phase.

Goalkeeper Kim Kyeong-min ensured Gwangju held onto the points as Frontale pushed for an equaliser, with substitute Eri­son also hitting the post late in the game for Kawasaki.

Pohang had lost 4-1 to Shenhua in the opening round of matches two weeks ago and they had goalkeeper Yun Pyeong-gook to thank for keeping it scoreless at home as Shanghai Port dominated the first half.

Yun made three crucial first-half stops, including one from former Chelsea and Brazil star Oscar.

It was a different story after the break as Wanderson’s smart finish on 52 minutes opened the floodgates.

Hong Yun-sang added a second 13 minutes later and Han Chan-hee’s goal on 71 minutes put the result beyond doubt.

There was more woe for Kevin Muscat’s Shanghai Port when Matheus Jussa was red-carded on 79 minutes, after a lengthy VAR review, for a needless forearm smash on Shin Kwang-hoon that sparked a mass brawl.

Malaysian champions JDT brushed aside Shenhua, with Arif Aiman and Jorge Obregon scoring inside the opening 26 minutes to give the home side a comfortable lead.

Juan Muniz hit the third 10 minutes from time with a perfectly executed free kick to move his side onto four points after an opening 2-2 draw with Shanghai Port last month.

“These three points are very important because we capitalised on the one point we got away in the first game,” said JDT head coach Hector Bidoglio. “Today JDT showed at home we’re a difficult team to beat.”

Buriram United joined JDT on four points with their win over Central Coast having drawn 0-0 with Vissel Kobe in the first round.

Guilherme Bissoli put the Thai League 1 champions in front when he directed Dion Cools’ cross past Adam Pavlesic and Curtis Good doubled the advantage five minutes into the second half with a header.

Pavlesic was sent off for hauling down Bissoli in the 57th minute while Lucas Mauragis’ strike into the top corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time was little more than a consolation for the hosts.who were beaten 3-1 at China’s Shandong Taishan in week one and are joint bottom of the 12-team East Zone league table.

MAHREZ KEEPS AL AHLI PERFECT

On Monday night, former Manchester City winger Mahrez struck in the third minute at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai to put Al-Ahli ahead. Meeting defender Ibanez’s excellent long pass over the Al Wasl defence, Mahrez controlled the ball expertly before prodding a shot low into the corner.

Al Ahli, who began the match with summer signing Ivan Toney up front, doubled their lead seven minutes before half-time, when the two same players combined. This time, it was Mahrez who turned provider, curling a corner onto the head of Ibanez for the former Roma centre-back to powerfully nod home.

The win moves Al-Ahli onto six points from two games in the western side of the draw after they started the campaign with a win over Iran’s Persepolis two weeks ago.

Ronaldo helped new Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli enjoy a successful Champions League debut, as the Saudi Arabian side secured their first win of the competition having drawn their opener against Iraq’s Al-Shorta.

Sadio Mane gave Al Nassr the lead at Al Awwal Park in first-half stoppage time, the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward meeting Sultan Al Ghannam’s superb deep cross to head home from close range, giving goalkeeper Paulo Victor little chance.

Ronaldo, making his first appearance in the rebranded Champions League having missed last week’s 1-1 draw against Al Shorta, had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside at the beginning of the second half.

Undeterred, the five-time UEFA Champions League winner doubled Al Nassr’s advantage on 76 minutes when he received Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s pass and curled a beautiful left-footed strike into the top corner of Victor’s goal.

The hosts were given a scare late on, though, Brazilian Roger Guedes scoring offAschraf Bencharki’s low centre at the back post. Still, Al Nassr held on to make it four points from two matches.

The victory was Al-Nassr’s fourth in a row in all competitions since former AC Milan manager Pioli replaced Luis Castro as head coach.

Persepolis were denied their first win despite seeing Ali Alipour score in the first minute as hosts Pakhtakor earned a draw with Dragan Ceran bending in a 59th minute equaliser.

Al-Sadd, the 2011 Asian champions, secured their first victory after drawing with defending champions Al-Ain two weeks ago as Felix Sanchez’s side downed Esteghlal.

A mistimed punch by goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini five minutes before halftime put Al-Sadd in front and Akram Afif’s 68th minute penalty sealed the win at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024