A quickfire double from South American duo Dario Conca and Elkeson inside the final 20 minutes put Guangzhou Evergrande in charge of the tie.

The Chinese champions are in pole position to reach the AFC Champions League semi-finals after a comfortable 2-0 win over Qatar's Lekhwiya on Wednesday at the Tianhe Sport Center.

The return leg will be in Doha on 18 September.

Marcello Lippi's side dominated for long periods but were off-key in front of goal.

Striker Gao Lin fired a shot across the face and Conca swerved a free-kick just wide. Even Muriqui, the competition's leading scorer with eight goals, showed fallibility as he put a great chance over.

Guangzhou's frustrations continued after the break and Elkeson, with 20 goals in 21 domestic appearances, was guilty of a glaring miss when he put a free header wide.

The Brazilian bungled again when a throw-in slipped out of his hands and travelled only a few feet, in what was threatening to become a night to forget for the hosts.

The home side finally broke the deadlock with 18 minutes remaining as Conca coolly converted the penalty after the Argentinian had been clumsily upended inside the area.

Just four minutes later, the Argentinian turned creator as he back-heeled a one-two with Elkeson who ran on to the return ball and powered home Guangzhou's second.

A third almost arrived soon after as Muriqui skipped past Amine, but fortunately for Lekhwiya, the Brazilian lost his balance at the crucial moment and could only fire into the side netting.