A change of manager had helped Goteborg turn around a first-leg deficit against Levadia in the previous round, and though the honeymoon period under Björklund continued in Allsvenskan last time out, it would come under real pressure against the Belgian side.
And so it proved in a first half dominated by the visitors, as Tibe De Vlieger and Josue Vergara both brough fine saves out of Viktor Andersson, before Gent finally made their pressure tell in the 45th minute.
Laszlo Benes set Hyllarion Goore on his way down the left side, and he was afforded far too much space by the Goteborg defence before cutting inside and seeing his shot take a big deflection to carry it past Andersson.
The home side showed improvement after the break, as Adam Bergmark-Wiberg and Sam Larsson both went close, but the away side were soon back on top, with Tiago Araujo and Christian Burgess both going close to doubling the advantage.
In added time, Bergmark-Wiberg was inches away from being the Blavitt hero on two occasions, with one goalbound effort blocked and another going just over the bar, meaning Gent will be defending a narrow lead when the pair meet again in Belgium on 13th August, and are yet to concede in the UECL this season.