Gamba Osaka set up last 16 meeting with city rivals Cerezo
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In Group G, tournament debutants Cerezo thumped Shandong Luneng 4-0 on Tuesday to qualify for the second round at the expense of the Chinese Super League champions.
Needing just to avoid defeat to advance as runners-up and finish behind Jeonbuk, Rodrigo Pimpao set the home side on their way after 39 minutes before Hiroshi Kiyotake, Takashi Inui and substitute midfielder Shu Kurata sealed the win after the break.
Jeonbuk recorded a fifth win in six games as a hat-trick from Krunoslav Lovrek inspired a 6-0 win over Arema Indonesia at Jeonju World Cup Stadium as the 2006 champions comfortably secured top spot and home advantage against Tianjin.
Inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain of the UAE signed off their campaign with a 3-1 win over Nagoya which ended the visitors' hopes of topping Group F.
With a stoppage-time header from youngster Zeng Yue earning Hangzhou a 1-1 draw with FC Seoul, Nagoya knew a win in the Middle East would secure top spot but the visitors were 2-0 down at the break as Hamad Al Merri and Elias struck for already-eliminated Al Ain.
Jungo Fujimoto reduced the margin just after half-time, but Al Ain quickly restored the two-goal cushion as Elias scored from the spot to hand Nagoya a trip to Suwon after the K-League side beat Shanghai Shenhua 3-0 on Tuesday.
Ha tae-goon struck twice while Shin Se-gye was also on target at Shanghai Hongkou Stadium as Suwon edged out Kashima on goals scored despite the Japanese side coming from a goal down to beat Sydney FC 2-1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo thanks to goals from Yuya Osako and Takuya Nozawa.
In the West, Al Hilal secured their place in the last 16 from Group A with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Qatar's Al Gharafa at King Fahd International Stadium on Wednesday.
Needing just a point to go through ahead of Al Gharafa, second-half goals from Yasser Al Qahtani and Ahmed Al Fraidi sealed the win. But with Sepahan rallying from a goal down to post an emphatic 4-1 victory over Al Jazira of the UAE, the three points was not enough to earn Al Hilal top spot.
Javad Kazemeyan pulled Sepahan level in Abu Dhabi after Brazilian Bare had opened the scoring for Al Jazira before a double from Senegal's Ibrahima Toure completed the turnaround with Reza Enayati sealing victory for the visitors.
Elsewhere, qualifiers Al Sadd sealed top spot in Group B as Madji Siddiq's stoppage-time free-kick earned a 1-1 draw at already-eliminated Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan.
And Al Nassr narrowly joined Al Sadd in the last 16 despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Iran's Esteghlal in front of 85, 422 at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. Badar Al Motawa had opened the scoring for the visitors on the hour mark, but after Farhad Majidi equalised, Hawar Mulla Mohammed netted with a minute remaining for Esteghlal. But after losing 2-1 in Saudi last month, Esteghlal missed out on goal difference with Al Nassr prevailing by just two goals.
In Group C, Al Ittihad ensured a home tie in the last 16 as Nuno Assis' goal earned a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on Tuesday.
Finally in Group D, Al Shabab beat Zobahan 1-0 on Tuesday to join last year's runners-up in the last 16. Fisal Bin Sultan's neat finish three minutes before the hour mark proved the difference as Al Shabab claimed the points they needed to stay ahead of Emirates, who suffered a 2-0 defeat at Al Rayyan.
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