Oleksandr Pyshur struck just before half-time to give the Uzbek side the lead and, with four minutes remaining, Fozil Musaev put the result beyond doubt with a goal on the break to condemn the home side to defeat.

“It’s a good start and I hope we can carry on like this,” said Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov. “The game was tense and it was an interesting game, especially for the spectators no matter what the score-line was like.

“We studied on our opponents and knew that the Hiroshima players have good ball control skills, which I told our players to be cautious about.

“Hiroshima are a very good team and I knew it would be difficult to play open. So, we planned to capitalise on their mistakes and our players played with patience and did what I told them to do well.”

Bunyodkor slipped out of the competition at the semi-final stage last season, losing to eventual champions Ulsan Hyundai, and Mirdjalal Kasimov’s team looked rusty in the opening exchanges in Japan as Sanfrecce controlled possession.

A mistake by the Uzbek defence allowed Satoru Yamagishi a sight of goal but the left-sided midfielder’s curling shot was punched to safety by Ignatiy Nesterov in the 16th minute.

Three minutes later, though, Bunyodkor could have taken the lead only for Marko Blazic to find the side netting as he bore down on the Sanfrecce goal.

With seconds remaining in the half, however, the visitors did go in front as Jovlon Ibrokhimov crossed from the right and Pyshur held off Kazuhiko Chiba to head beyond Shusaku Nishikawa.

Sanfrecce came out for the second half in determined mood, controlling the flow of the game but failing to find the back of the net. Hiroki Mizumoto headed just wide in the 54th minute and Hisato Sato – top scorer in the J.League last season – saw his header tipped over the bar by Nesterov seven minutes later.

As the Japanese side grew increasingly desperate to find the equaliser, Musaev forced Chiba into an error in the 86th minute before racing from just inside the Hiroshima half to slot past Shusaku and complete Bunyodkor’s win.

“We went into the game rather too cautiously and couldn’t increase the pace and the mobility as much as we wanted,” said Sanfrecce coach Hajime Moriyasu. “But still we improved our performance in the second half.

“It would have been better if we could have played like we did in the second half before we gave away the first goal. If you make a mistake in Asian competition, your opposition will capitalise on that for sure.

“Every Bunyodkor player has high technical skills and they play with discipline. I felt they are a good team and a strong team. We lost to them today, however, I don’t think at all we were inferior to them, and want to make sure to beat them next time.”