Newly-crowned Iran champions Esteghlal took a huge step towards securing a first AFC Champions League quarter-final appearance after recording a 4-2 win over Al Shabab Al Arabi on Wednesday, although the other last 16 ties all remained finely balanced with only Japan's Kashiwa Reysol claiming a significant first leg advantage.

Japanese Emperor's Cup winners Kashiwa maintained their unbeaten record in the competition with a 2-0 away win over former champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, with Buriram United posting the only home win in the first leg after the Thai side recorded a 2-1 victory over two-time semi-finalists Bunyodkor.

Domestic champions Guangzhou Evergrande, Al Shabab and Lekhwiya, meanwhile, all claimed slender first-leg advantages with away wins over Qatar's Al Gharafa, Australia's Central Coast Mariners and Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal respectively, while El Jaish earned a 1-1 draw at home to 2012 finalists Al Ahli and Beijing Guoan were held to a goalless draw at home by FC Seoul.

At Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, Jlloyd Samuel, Javad Nekounam, Farhad Majidi and Khosro Heidari scored in the second half as Group D winners Esteghlal recovered empathically from conceding on the stroke of half-time to Luiz Henrique after Al Shabab Al Arabi had made the ideal start to their maiden appearance in the Round of 16.

Edgar also netted for Group B runners-up Al Shabab Al Arabi in the second half, although the UAE Pro League side face an uphill in next week's return fixture in Tehran as two-time Asian Club Championship winners Esteghlal seek a first success in the last 16 in three attempts.

"We achieved a big victory against a strong team in an important match," said Esteghlal coach Amir Ghalenoei.

"Al Shabab are an organised side and they performed well in the first half as they stopped us from scoring. However, things changed in the second period as we had a good performance and we managed to score four goals and get an important win.

"However, the match was only a part of the encounter and there is still another match in Iran which will be decisive."

At Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Kashiwa took a huge step towards securing a place in the quarter-finals for the first time after headers from Masato Kudo and Tatsuya Masushima handed Japan's sole remaining representative in the competition a healthy advantage over an uncharacteristically disjointed Jeonbuk.

With the runners-up in the Group Stage all handed away trips in the return fixtures, Buriram were the only home side to claim an advantage after the first legs as a glancing header from substitute Ekkachai Samre with 14 minutes remaining was enough to edge out Bunyodkor.

After Buriram had become the first Thai team in a decade to reach the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League, the home side were rewarded for a strong start as Anawin Jujeen opened the scoring after 17 minutes only for an eye-catching volley from Bunyodkor substitute Igor Taran to pull the visitors level in first-half stoppage time.

But despite Bunyodkor continuing to improve in the second half, Ekkachai headed home to hand Buriram – with new head coach Scott Cooper in the dugout following the departure of Atthaphol Puspakom – a slender advantage ahead of next week's return fixture in Tashkent.

A-League Grand Final winners Central Coast were on course to also claim a first leg advantage after Mitchell Duke handed Graham Arnold's side the lead after seven minutes in Gosford against Chinese Super league champions Guangzhou.

But Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios and Brazilian forward Muriqui hit back for Marcello Lippi's side to leave Guangzhou on course for a second consecutive appearance in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Nasser Al Shamrani struck seven minutes from time as Saudi champions Al Shabab came back from a goal down to beat Al Gharafa 2-1 in Doha, while Tunisian midfielder Youssef Al Msakni netted a deflected strike as Qatari counterparts Lekhwiya edged out Al Hilal 1-0 in Riyadh.

Captain Anderson Martins, meanwhile, came to El Jaish's rescue as the AFC Champions League debutants denied 2012 finalists Al Ahli a first-leg advantage as their last 16 tie in Doha ended 1-1 after Motaz Al Mosa's header in first-half stoppage time had seemingly put the unbeaten Group C winners in pole position.

Finally, K-League champions FC Seoul held on to claim a 0-0 draw against Beijing at Workers' Stadium despite playing out the final 30 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of Choi Hyo-jin.

After Choi Hyo-jin picked up two bookings in the first 15 minutes of the second half, Choi Yong-soo's side weathered the storm and will go into the second leg in Seoul next Tuesday knowing a win on home soil will see them advance to the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons.

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