UAE clubs had mixed fortunes on the opening night of the league phase of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Shabab Al Ahli secured all three points with a 1-0 victory at home over Iranian side Tractor.
Al Wasl didn't fare quite as well, though, going down 2-1 to Al Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia.
Yuri Cesar's opportunistic strike on 22 minutes settled the tie in Shabab Al Ahli's favour at the Rashid Stadium.
Last season's semi-finalists began the match on the front foot, with Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun seeing a seventh-minute header ruled out for offside.
Rikelme then rattled the bar from 35 yards out as Shabab Al Ahi intensified their attacks.
They made the breakthrough when Cesar capitalised on a mistake by Tractor captain Shojae Khalilsadeh.
The Brazilian-born UAE international pounced on the loose ball and steered his shot past goalkeeper Parsa Jafari and into the bottom right.
Fellow Dubai club Al Wasl found the going much tougher on their travels, falling to goals from Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui.
Brendan Rodgers' Al Qadsiah, making their debut in the continental competition, had to wait until the 57th minute to break the deadlock.
Quinones' 33 goals last term were a major factor in their fourth-place finish in the Saudi Pro League and, with it, a berth in the league phase of the Asian Champions League.
The Mexican's majestic leap to meet Christopher Baah's cross delivered their first goal in the tournament.
They didn't have to wait long for their second. Retegui, introduced as a substitute at half time, took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Wasl goalkeeper to slam home from close range.
Al Wasl pulled a goal back through Leandro Spadacio in stoppage time, but it came too late to change the final result.
"We played a great match, and the most important thing for us was securing the win in the first game," Rodgers said in his post-match press conference.
Man-of-the-match Quinones said: "We played a strong, competitive match, and we had been preparing for this game for a long time – we were very ready to take it on."
Two-time defending champions Al Ahli Saudi needed a late goal to salvage a 1-1 draw in the first match of their title defence.
Goalkeeper Vladimir Nazarov produced a string of saves to frustrate Al Ahli before Flamarion put Pakhtakor ahead five minutes from time, only for Firas Al Brikan to rescue Al Ahli in the third minute of stoppage time.
Al Ahli weren't the only Saudi side indebted to a late leveller.
Al Ittihad had trailed 1-0 to Al Shamal courtesy of a Baghdad Bounedjah goal before summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum rescued a point with a 94th-minute equaliser.
"A tough encounter. We faced a difficult team, we have gone through difficult weeks, and it was an uneven match," Ittihad's German coach Jens Wissing told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
"We had chances and so did they. We lost our sharpness and our decision-making in the final third, but I am pleased that we did not lose hope. It is a fair draw for both sides, and it was not an open contest."
Saudi champions Al Nassr are in action on Tuesday when they take on UAE title-holders Al Ain at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, while Al Hilal welcome Qatar's Al Gharafa to Riyadh.
