Without its star Brazilian midfielder Ramires, Chinese Super League squad Jiangsu Suning FC settled for a goalless draw with J. League Division 1 club FC Tokyo on Tuesday in a 2016 AFC Champions League Group E match held at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Jiangsu missed the services of their £25 million-man in the said game as the 28-year-old Barra do Piraí, Brazil native served his one-game suspension after being sent off in their last ACL match against South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on March 1st, as per Four Four Two.

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The Nanjing residents eventually won that game against the Green Warriors, 3-2, at their home field of Nanjing Olympic Sports Center to secure their only win of the said tournament so far. Suning was upset by lowly Vietnamese squad Becamex Bình Dương in their group stage opener last Feb. 23rd, forcing them in a 1-1 draw.

Ramires, one of two big-money signings by Jiangsu in the recent winter transfer window, was sent off for an unnecessary push during stoppage time of their game versus Joenbuk earlier this month, according to Daily Mail Online.

The Brazil international's absence was a marked difference in the Suning midfield that did not allow Dan Petrescu's team to control ball possession against Tokyo as much as they would have liked.

The other big-money signing, Asian transfer record holder Alex Teixeira, suited up for Jiangsu in the match but had failed to deliver on the offensive end this time around.

With a win and two draws, Jiangsu is now at the second spot in the Group E table with five points, one point behind group leaders Jeonbuk and one point ahead of the Japanese capital city squad. They have two games left in the group stage to make themselves advance in the knock-out stage of the said Asian continental tourney.

Ramires is set to return in their next game, a rematch with FC Tokyo, this time at their home stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

TagsChina Football, 2016 AFC Champions League, AFC Champions League, 2016 AFC Champions League group stage, Jiangsu Suning FC, FC Tokyo, Ramires