Goalkeeper:

Mabrouk Zaid (Al Ittihad): Was called into action again and again, and it was largely due to his heroics that the Saudi Arabian team emerged from Al Jazira with a point.

Defenders:

Kim Hyung-il (Pohang): The tall defender met an equally tall striker in Luis Eber but made sure that the Brazilian never looked like carrying his fine domestic form into the continental arena.

Hamad Al Montashari (Al Ittihad): The two-time champions spent much of the time on the back foot in the UAE and while goalkeeper Zaid made a string of fine saves, Montashari was there more often than not to help out.

Aziz Ben Askar (Umm Salal): The Moroccan defender is one of those performers who never puts a foot wrong. Esteghlal never threatened too much in Qatar but Aziz was there when they did.

Midfielders:

Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale): Not as famous as his Scotland-based namesake but on this performance almost as good. Chipped in with a goal and his passing and vision caused big problems for the hosts.

Mark Milligan (Shanghai Shenhua): Developing into a firm favourite at the Hongkou and mixed it well as Shanghai defeated the Korean champions. His late injury is a blow.

Darko Markovic (Pahktakor): Qom is not an easy place to go to but the Tashkent titans will be delighted with a 2-0 win. Markovic was a busy man, both going forward and in defence. A perfect away performance.

Ali Karimi (Persepolis): A tidy performance from the Wizard of Tehran. His passes and crosses were a constant threat to Al Gharafa.

Forwards:

Jong Tae Se (Kawasaki Frontale): Perhaps the North Korean star should get ’poisoned’ more often. He hasn’t stopped scoring since and opened the floodgates with a typical goal at Central Coast Mariners.

Saleh Bashir (Al Ittifaq): Was inspirational as the Saudis steamrollered Al Shabab. He scored twice and caused havoc in the opposition back line.

Yasser Al Qahtani (Al Hilal): ’The Sniper’ put his recent problems at the national team level behind him with a goal in a vital win over Al Ahli. He also was fouled for the last-minute penalty.