As arguably Southeast Asia's most-formidable club, it was not a huge surprise that Buriram United won the ASEAN Club Championship last season -- in the tournament's return following a 20-year hiatus.
What is rather shocking is how they have fared thus far in their title defence the current edition of the tournament -- officially known as the 2025-26 Shopee Cup.
Having drawn their opening two games against Selangor and BG Pathum United, the Thai League 1 champions -- who have won their past four domestic titles -- were on course for a potentially-damaging home defeat on Wednesday at the hands of Công An Hà Nội, who they defeated on penalties in last season's decider after a thrilling 5-5 aggregate draw.
In the end, through a 91st-minute penalty, Buriram were able to salvage a 1-1 draw but whether or not they have now left themselves with too much to do remains to be seen.
There were just ten minutes on the clock when the Vietnamese visitors found the breakthrough after Léo Artur broke free inside the area following an ingenious one-two with Stefan Mauk.
Although confronted with a difficult angle, the Brazilian somehow managed to squeeze a delicate effort in between opposition goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom and a recovering Kenny Dougall clinically in off the post.
The contest did not take long to evolve into a feisty encounter, which was no surprise really given the traditional Thailand-Vietnam rivalry undoubtedly coupled with some residual bad blood from last season's keenly-contested final.
Almost immediately after the restart, Buriram were dealt another blow when they were reduced to ten men -- Robert Žulj leaving a foot in and stamping on China which initially went unpunished but was eventually upgraded to a straight red upon VAR review.
The odds were now stacked against the hosts, especially given considering the talismanic influence Žulj has in the attacking third but, to their credit, they were undeterred.
It also helps having other talent on the pitch in the form of Guilherme Bissoli, Suphanat Mueanta and Theerathon Bunmathan.
Eventually, and after having to survive a few scares as they left plenty of gaps at the back in search of a goal with a numerical deficit, Buriram go their reward.
And just like they can have no complaints over Žulj's dismissal, CAHN also did not have much of a case when VAR intervention awarded Buriram the late penalty that led to their equaliser -- although coach Alexandré Pölking certainly cut a displeased figure on the sidelines.
Providing real drama, the incident actually occurred in the 82nd minute but, with play initially continuing and then pausing for injury treatment and subsequent substitutions - the VAR review was only called in the 86th minute.
The review also proved far from straightforward but, ultimately, while Mauk initially had his arm by his side, there was a clear outward extension of his elbow which enabled him to deflect a Narubadin Weerawatnodom cross to safety.
A ball had not been picked for almost a full ten minutes when Bissoli placed it on the spot once the dust had settled.
As is usually the case, the prolific Brazilian marksman made no mistake in sending his penalty past Filip Nguyen and -- with neither side able to find a winner in the remainder of the 11 added minutes -- both had to be content for a share of the spoils which does neither any real favours, although the nature of the tournament's single round-robin format means anything is still possible.
While Buriram remain second-from-bottom in the six-team Group A, they are only three points off the top -- and just two away from the second semifinal berth.
Their stature also means they, like in most cases on the regional stage, they will head into their final two group-stage fixtures as favourites.
They will have to be wary in their trip to surprise leaders BG Tampines Rovers but finishing up against bottom side DH Cebu will provide an almost-certain three points barring a minor catastrophe.
Their main issue is that they are chasing points that four teams above them already have in the bag.
Only time will tell if Buriram's subsequent efforts in keeping alive their ASEAN Club Championship title defence prove to be too little too late.