Japan's Cerezo Osaka qualified for the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League by beating Shandong Luneng 4-0 on Tuesday, denying the Chinese club a berth in the last 16.
Shandong needed to win to beat Cerezo to second place in Group G, but aside from an opportunity in the opening minute, the reigning Chinese Super League champion was outplayed throughout.
Cerezo, which has largely lived in the shadow of city rival Gamba Osaka - which was also through to the last 16 - will visit South Korea's Suwon Bluewings in the one-leg second round.
Suwon won 3-0 away at the already-eliminated Shanghai Shenhua to take top spot in Group H on goal difference from Japan's Kashima Antlers, which beat Sydney 2-1.
Cerezo's opening goal came in the 39th minute when Shandong goalkeeper Yang Cheng could only parry a long-range strike into the path of Brazilian striker Rodrigo, who reacted sharply to head the ball into an empty net.
Shandong's victory hopes were all but snuffed out in the first minute of the second half when Hiroshi Kiyotake finished an impressive move by controlling a pass on his chest, stepping inside a defender and then rifling a well-hit shot into the top right corner.
Impressive playmaker Takashi Inui added the third goal in the 73rd, completing a counterattack by pouncing on a rebound and shooting just inside the left post.
Shandong's Cui Peng was sent off soon afterward for an awful challenge, diving in feet-first on an opponent, and he walked off without any argument.
Substitute Shu Karata further punished Shandong in the 81st, as he played a one-two with a teammate and waltzed between two defenders before driving in his shot off the foot of the right post.
Earlier, South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors thrashed Indonesia's Arema 6-0 to ensure it finished on top of Group G.
Croatian striker Krunoslav Lovrek scored a hat trick, with his opener coming in the first minute. Kim Dong-chan, Jeong Seong-hoon and Keng Seung-jo also found the net for the Korean club.
Jeonbuk will host Kashima in the round of 16.
The Antlers fell behind against Sydney in the 26th minute via a header from Matt Jurman - playing his last game for the club before transferring to Australian champion Brisbane - but Kashima responded impressively after the break.
Young striker Yuya Osako equalized in the 64th and then long-serving midfielder Takuya Nozawa scored the vital free kick winner in the 85th.
That result meant Kashima and Suwon finished level on points and could not be split on head-to-head record, so the group winner was decided by the third criteria of goal difference.
The Bluewings went ahead in Shanghai through striker Park Jong-jin in the 13th minute. Needing to win to take top spot, Suwon got the cushion of a second goal in the 56th minute thanks to tall forward Ha Tae-gyun, and midfielder Shin Se-gye added a third in stoppage time.
