Mazembe beat Real de Bamako 3-1 at home in Lubumbashi while Gallants picked up a 4-1 victory against Al Akhdar of Libya at their Dobsonville Stadium backyard.
The two move top of Group D and A respectively as they started their campaign in style.
At the Stade Frederic Kibassa Maliba in Lubumbashi, a pair of overhead kick goals from Jephte Kitambala and Alex Ngonga and Patient Mwamba’s screamer gave Mazembe a well-deserved victory with Souleymane Coulibaly scoring the consolation for the Malian side.
Kitambala broke the deadlock for Mazembe in the 24th minute when he controlled the ball from a tight angle on the left before going for an audacious overhead kick which dipped behind the goalkeeper. It was a worthy gift for the hosts, who had started faster off the blocks.
But, they were pegged back just eight minutes later when Coulibaly levelled after deflecting an Ousmane Kamissoko volley back into the area after a poorly defended freekick.
The Ravens, clearly all out for the win, got back into their single goal cushion when Ngonga scored. The Zambian international hit the back of the net with a superb acrobatic kick from an Issama Mpeko cross from the right.They went to the break with a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, they had some chances to score. Beni Kinzimbi had an opportunity when he dribbled his way to the edge of the box but his left footer was saved for a corner. In the 77th minute, Ngonga almost scored his second on the half volley after running to an Adam Bossu ball clipped behind the defense, but the keeper saved too.
Substitute Mwamba then put the icing on the cake with a belter of a goal, a half volley from 30 yards out.
By Brian Mboh