Urawa Reds suffered a disappointing result on Wednesday in their AFC Champions League Round of 16 opener, losing 2-0 to hosts Jeju United.
Despite a promising opening, it took just seven minutes for Marcelo Toscano to give Jeju the lead when he headed in Hwang Il-Soo cross.
Urawa dominated in possession throughout the rest of the match, but failed to break through Jeju’s stubborn defending.
After conceding a second goal in stoppage time to Jin Sung-Wook, the J1 League side will enter the May 31 second-leg at Saitama Stadium needing at least a 3-0 win to advance to the quarter-finals.