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Sports / Qatar Sport

Vissel Kobe advance with win over Guangzhou Evergrande

Published: 26 Nov 2020 - 09:08 am | Last Updated: 03 Nov 2021 - 04:20 am
Kobe’s forward Kyogo Furuhashi (right) celebrates his goal during the AFC Champions League group G match against China’s Guangzhou Evergrande at the Khalifa International Stadium, yesterday.

Kobe’s forward Kyogo Furuhashi (right) celebrates his goal during the AFC Champions League group G match against China’s Guangzhou Evergrande at the Khalifa International Stadium, yesterday.

AFC/ The Peninsula

Doha: Vissel Kobe sealed their place in the 2020 AFC Champions League Round of 16 (East) with a 3-1 win over China PR’s Guangzhou Evergrande in Group G at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.

Late goals from substitute Douglas and former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta sealed the win for the Japanese club, after Kyogo Furuhashi scored at both ends in an action-packed encounter

Struggling in their domestic league, Vissel Kobe have now accrued six points from two ACL matches, putting them five points clear of both Guangzhou and Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the three-team group.

Having seen his side fail to score against Suwon in their last hit out, Fabio Cannavaro added Anderson Talisca and Ai Kesen, formerly Elkeson, to the Guangzhou starting line-up, but the Chinese side were dealt a blow when captain Zhang Linpeng succumbed to injury within the opening 10 minutes.

Despite enjoying decidedly less possession than they are accustomed to, Guangzhou looked the more threatening attacking side in the early skirmishes. Wei Shihao saw a shot deflected into the side netting in the 25th minute, and Luo Guofu, formerly Aloisio, hit the upright from an acute angle after wriggling his way into the box a few minutes later.

But Vissel Kobe, who were appearing in Doha for the first time, improved as the first half went on, and their reward arrived via Furuhashi in the 44th minute.

The game’s opening goal owed much to the increasingly influential Iniesta, who dribbled to the by-line before squaring the ball for his teammate, with Furuhashi practically unable to miss from directly in front.

Cannavaro and his players both responded immediately; the former by making three half-time substitutions, and the latter by increasing their intensity in the early minutes of the second half.

Ai Kesen prodded an effort into the crossbar, and it wasn’t long before Guangzhou were level, with Furuhashi turning the ball into his own net in a desperate attempt to keep out a looping attempt from Talisca in the 55th minute.

Talisca had two more near misses in the next three minutes as the two-time Asian champions flexed their considerable attacking muscle, but in a game full of momentum swings, it was the Japanese side who finished the stronger.

They regained their lead in the 74th minute, when Douglas - on the pitch for just five minutes - blasted the ball beyond Liu Dianzuo at his near post after a sublime back-heeled assist from Daigo Nishi.


Jeonbuk’s defender Koo Ja-Ryong runs with the ball during match against Sydney FC at Al Janoub Stadium, yesterday. 

Ai Kesen looked to have salvaged a point when he bundled the ball in with eight minutes remaining, but the goal was ruled out for offside, and Iniesta sealed the win for Vissel Kobe when he poked home a third in the 84th minute, stretching Guangzhou’s winless run against Japanese opposition to six, and giving them much to think about ahead of their second clash against Vissel on Saturday.

Also yesterday at Al Janoub Stadium, Na Sung-eun’s first half strike was the difference as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors got their first win of the 2020 AFC Champions League in a 1-0 victory over Sydney FC, consigning the Australians to early elimination.

The two sides went into the match knowing defeat would make the losing team the first to exit the 2020 AFC Champions League (East), with both teams having collected just one point from their first three matches.

Elsewhere, Yokohama F. Marinos left it late to overcome Shanghai SIPG 1-0 yesterday and continue their perfect start to the 2020 AFC Champions League, retaining the top spot in Group H.