“A difficult victory, in a difficult environment, against a very aggressive and fast team that made the game tough for us – exactly what we expected,” said Jesus. “We knew that to win here we had to be very well organised, and that’s what we did.

“In the end we won not naturally, but because we were the better team. We created three chances and scored two. Once again, congratulations to my players because defensively they were extremely well organised.”

Al Nassr, who were without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, upped the ante in the second half with Al Khaibari capitalising on a poor clearance before netting with a fierce finish from the edge of the box.

Felix then secured the three points with a curling effort to seal the victory.

Despite suffering defeat, Al Zawraa head coach Abdulghani Shahad was proud of his side’s performance.

“We lost the match, but at the same time I want to thank my players for the brave performance they gave against a big team,” said Shahad. “The group-stage matches are different from knockout matches, and we are fully aware that Al Zawraa must qualify for the next round. Qualification doesn’t necessarily have to come at the expense of Al Nassr.

“We tried to show a performance worthy of the name of Al Zawraa and Iraqi football and I believe we delivered an acceptable match.”

The Iraq Stars League side will aim to bounce back when they travel to face Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol on Matchday Three, while Al Nassr play India’s FC Goa.