Aleksandar Mitrovic tallied a hat-trick as Al Hilal continued their perfect start to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite on Monday with a 3-0 win over Iran's Esteghlal, although the Saudi Arabian club's evening was soured by a late injury to Neymar.

Al Ahli's Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez ensured a positive evening for Saudi Pro League side in the recently revamped continental competition, with both players scoring twice in a 5-1 thrashing of Iraq's Al Shorta in Jeddah.

Iran's Persepolis drew 1-1 with Al Gharafa from Qatar, and Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates also battled to a 1-1 draw against Qatar's Al Sadd.

Al Hilal and Al Ahli have each won all four of their games in the league phase of the competition so far, opening up a four-point lead over third-placed Al Sadd, with fellow Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr a further point back in fourth.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr will meet titleholders Al Ain on Tuesday, while Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor take on Al Rayyan of Qatar.

The top eight finishers in the 12-team league phase from both west and east Asia will advance to the knockout rounds, which will be played in March.

Mitrovic put Al-Hilal ahead at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena with a 15th minute tap-in, and doubled the advantage with another straightforward finish in the 33rd minute.

The former Fulham striker completed his hat-trick with a 74th-minute header into the bottom corner, following Joao Cancelo's cross from the right.

The evening ended on a sour note for Al Hilal when Neymar, who returned two weeks ago from a year out due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), was replaced 29 minutes after his introduction from the bench due to injury.

In Jeddah, Firmino opened the scoring when he headed in Ziyad Al-Johani's 14th-minute cross, but after Franck Kessie saw his penalty saved by Ahmed Basil, Sajjad Jasim levelled on a counterattack for Al Shorta.

Firmino restored his team's lead in first-half stoppage time from three yards out, however, and then set up Feras Al-Brikan for Al Ahli's third goal, also from close range, eight minutes into the second half.

Mahrez slotted the fourth into the bottom corner in the 61st minute, and added his side's fifth goal four minutes later.

Romain Saiss earned a point for Al Sadd in Dubai, equalizing for the Qatari outfit just after the hour mark in their draw with Al-Wasl, with his strike cancelling out Alexis Perez's deflected 29th-minute opener.

Substitute Ahmed Al-Ganehi levelled for Al Gharafa, also in Dubai, three minutes after Farshad Faraji had given Persepolis a 53rd-minute lead, as the two sides shared the points.