Marouane Fellaini said Shandong Luneng triumphed in the face of adversity after the Chinese Super League side reached the Asian Champions League's last 16 with a 2-1 win over South Korea's Gyeongnam on Wednesday.

The former Manchester United midfielder completed Shandong's comeback from a goal down when he nodded home the winner with three minutes left in front of a boisterous home crowd in Jinan.

Earlier, Hao Junmin's sizzling 64th-minute freekick had canceled out Kim Seung-Jun's first-half volley for the visitor.

Shandong secured the victory, and with it top spot in Group E with a game to spare, without star Italian striker Graziano Pelle, leaving Fellaini extra proud of his night's work.

"It was a difficult game for us against Gyeongnam because Graziano was injured," said the 31-year-old Belgian, who joined Shandong from United in February.

"As a result, we had to make many changes in attack in terms of formation and personnel. We also had some other absences from the team and needed to rely on different players.

"This made it really not an easy match for us. However, despite all these problems, in the end we won the match, which is the most important thing.

"And, most significantly, we therefore qualified for the AFC Champions League's round of 16."

Luneng coach Li Xiaopeng echoed Fellaini's comments, saying: "Without Graziano Pelle, our team faced huge pressure.

"In the first half of the match, the psychological condition of our players was not stable and we made many mistakes.

"Our team should produce more performances like this, which has been a great boost for our players' confidence. The South Korean team was very tough and we were persistent enough."

Meanwhile, Japan's defending AFC champion Kashima Antlers failed to secure its last-16 berth after a stunning 1-0 loss to Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim on Wednesday.

Johor faces Gyeongnam in its final group game on May 22, with both sides capable of overtaking Kashima in the battle for the runner-up spot.

Evergrande on brink

Guangzhou Evergrande's chances of reaching the knockout stages suffered a huge blow with a 1-0 Group F loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan.

Li Xuepeng's 15th-minute own-goal was enough to send Sanfrecce through, and left the CSL giant needing to beat second-place Deagu of South Korea on May 22 to progress to the last 16.

Elimination would raise serious questions over the future of Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro, who has endured a turbulent season in Guangdong province and aborted a brief and disastrous spell as China national boss last month.

Seven-time Chinese champion Evergrande is also at risk of being left behind in the domestic title race. It currently sits third in the CSL, six points back of early leader Beijing Guo'an.

Daegu hammered already-eliminated Melbourne Victory 4-0 in the group's other game.

Brazilian forward Edgar, Jeong Tae-wook, Kim Dae-won and Jung Seon-ho were all on target as Daegu moved within sight of the knockout phase on its debut in the competition.