(Source: AFC)
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On a heavy pitch and in poor conditions, the Chinese made the most of two free kicks and moved three points ahead of the Japanese club in the standings, joining Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the summit.

Gamba eased to victory in the two teams' previous meeting in Japan when Akira Nishino's team won 3-0, but any thoughts of a repeat performance were erased in the 21st minute.

That was when striker Zou Jie put Dalian ahead as he touched home a swinging free kick from midfielder Hu Zhaojun.

Four minutes into the second half, defender Zhang Yaokun headed in Bulgarian international Zoran Jankovic's free kick from the left to double Dalian's advantage and severely dent Gamba's hopes of progressing to the knockout phase.

Dalian benefited from Serbian coach Vladimir Petrovic's decision to cancel training on Tuesday to give his team a much-needed rest following Sunday's CSL defeat at the hands of Shenyang Ginde and the break had the desired effect.

Yan Song, who has spent much of the early season on the bench, was included in the starting line-up as Patrovic sought to use his pace to provide more opportunities for Jankovic and Zou.

With Gamba unable to find any fluency in their midfield, Dalian took control of the game as the visitors struggled in the opening 30 minutes.

Osaka's only real chance in the first half came from Magno Alves' long-range effort in the 10th minute after a scramble in the Dalian penalty area, but the Brazilian striker's shot was just wide of the right-hand post.

Zou could have added a second in the 24th minute when he had only keeper Naoki Matsuyo to beat, but his close-range half-volley flew over the crossbar.

Gamba began to find their rhythm in the dying minutes of the first half with two long-range shots, neither of which were on target.

The visitors continued to struggle in the second half, resorting to fouls to keep Dalian at bay.

Dalian's second in the 49th minute prompted Nishino to ring the changes, withdrawing Brazilian Fernandinho and replacing him with Satoshi Nakayama and opting for the long ball.

But it all came to naught, leaving Gamba needing to win their remaining games to have any chance of becoming the first Japanese club to qualify for the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.