Barring the unexpected, all three Saudi Arabian sides will advance to the Round of 16 after producing impressive performances yet again.

Al Hilal SFC and Ahli Saudi FC stayed perfect while Al Naasr Club made it three wins in a row and given the quality in their respective squads, all three look capable of going all the way.

Debutants Gwangju FC's three-match winning run was snapped by Vissel Kobe with head coach Lee Jung-hyo admitting that his side had been taught a lesson by their Japanese opponents.

The side from Korea Republic don't have time to reflect as not only did they relinquish top spot, the defeat saw the chasing pack close in and Gwangju have to respond with a win against Shanghai Shenhua on Matchday Five.

AL Ain FC parted ways with head coach Hernan Crespo after suffering defeat against Al Nassr Club, which saw them conceding five goals for the second successive AFC Champions League Elite match.

While Crespo has departed, Al Ain are still very much in the race for a knockout stage spot as they - despite only having a point to show - are just two adrift of eighth-placed Esteghlal FC.

Having claimed a third successive domestic title, head coach Kim Pan-gon would have expected a fighting performance from his Ulsan HD side against Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim.

The Korea Republic champions, however, were second best throughout as they fell to a 3-0 defeat, much to former Malaysian head coach Kim's bemusement with the loss leaving Ulsan HD with no points and no goals.

Jasir Asani failed to score for the first time in four games as Gwangju FC suffered defeat on Matchday Four but the Albanian continues to lead the scorers chart with six goals.

The chasing pack, however, are not far behind with Anderson Lopes (Yokohama F. Marinos), Aleksandar Mitrovic, Salem Al Dawsari (both Al Hilal SFC), Arif Aiman (Johor Darul Ta'zim) and Taisei Miyashiro (Vissel Kobe) all on four goals - setting the stage for a thrilling race for the Golden Boot award.