Yuya Osako and Haruya Ide scored first half headers as Kobe, who are chasing a trophy treble after last season’s domestic league and cup double, took control of the tie in front of their home fans.

Tournament debutants Gwangju came back into the game in the second half but could not pull a goal back.

The teams meet again for the second leg in South Korea next week, with the winner going through to the final tournament of the revamped AFC Champions League Elite in Saudi Arabia.

“We’ve been playing a run of games with a small group of players so rest and recovery is the most important thing now,” said Kobe manager Takayuki Yoshida.

“We’re away in the next game and they’re the type of team that can play in lots of different ways, so we want to be prepared for any situation, like we were today.”

Kobe went into the game missing several key men including last season’s J League player of the year Yoshinori Muto.

Osako did not help their cause when he picked up a needless early booking for an off-the-ball shove on a Gwangju player.

But the former Japan striker opened the scoring midway through the first half, heading home the rebound after Ide had crashed the ball against the crossbar.

The roles were reversed less than 10 minutes later when Osako teed up Ide to nod home Kobe’s second goal.

Gwangju looked a different side after the interval but they lost defender Byeon Jun-soo to injury on the hour mark and faded as the half went on.

“If we do the things we should be doing in the next game then the result will follow. That’s all we need to do,” Osako said.