Expectations were high for A-League champions Brisbane Roar on their AFC debut, but they were beaten 2-0 by a slick FC Tokyo on Tuesday.
The Japanese Emperor s Cup winners had to wait until moments before the interval to open the scoring when Aria Hasegawa s low cross found the onrushing Tatsuya Yazawa who hammered home from close range.
Tokyo added a second when Michael Theoklitos could only parry Naotake Hanyu s shot into the path of Hasegawa on 56 minutes.
Brisbane improved in the second half at Suncorp Stadium with an Henrique chance and Mohamed Adnan header, but could not find a route to goal.
Tokyo s J.League rivals Gamba Osaka were not as convincing, falling to a shock 3-0 loss to 2009 Asian champions Pohang Steelers at home.
The Steelers stormed ahead in the opening half hour, with Kim Tae-Su netting on 13 minutes after Derek Asamoah s clever work, before Zoran Rendulic made it 2-0 on 23 minutes.
Hwang Jin-Sung, who assisted Rendulic s strike, set up the third, with Asamoah making it 3-0 on 76 minutes to seal an emphatic opening win for the Korean side.
There were more shocks in Tashkent with A-League strugglers Adelaide United stunning Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor 2-1 with a blistering counter-attacking display.
Nigel Boogaard converted the impressive Iain Ramsay s corner on 13 minutes before Antony Golec made it 2-0 nine minutes after the interval, poking home Ramsay s blocked shot at the end of yet another swift break.
Bunyodkor looked a different side after the second goal but were left frustrated in the final half-hour by Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic, who made a series of saves before substitute Kamoliddim Murzoev scored deep into stoppage time to break Adelaide s resistance.
Korean side Ulsan Hyundai started their campaign with a solid 2-1 victory over 10-man Beijing Guoan.
New signing Lee Keun-Ho set up Kim Shin-Wook to break the deadlock on 26 minutes.
Go Seul-Ki doubled their advantage 10 minutes prior to half-time before Guoan pulled a goal back through substitute Piao Cheng on 52 minutes.
Bani Yas made an impressive start in Group B, cruising to a 2-0 win over Al Arabi without star trio Amr Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Fawzi and Ahmad Ali.
Yousif Jaber scored from the penalty spot just before half-time for the Etisalat Pro League runners-up before Francisco Javier Yeste wrapped up the scoring.
Elsewhere, Iran s Esteghlal scored a late winner through Frenchman Goran Jerkovic in a 1-0 victory over Qatari side Al-Rayyan, while the Group A match between Nasaf Quarshi and United Arab Emirates champions Al-Jazeera was postponed due to heavy snow in Karshi.
