Exiting Beijing hold their heads high says Manzano

Brazilian substitute Edu scored the only goal of a hard-fought game at Workers’ Stadium before Beijing had captain Zhou Ting sent off in the dying seconds for a late challenge on Choi Chul-soon.

And the defeat, having drawn last week’s first leg 1-1 in Korea, meant Beijing were unsuccessful in their bid to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Match report: Beijing Guoan 0-1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (agg 1-2)

“We were pretty even in the first half, but they played more attacking in the second and created more chances,” said Manzano.

“We tried to score after conceding, but unfortunately we couldn’t.

“We fought till the last second with the hope of equalising, but their goalkeeper was very good and stopped two close shots from us.”

After a late equaliser from Argentinean midfielder Pablo Batalla had helped secure a 1-1 draw for Beijing in the first leg in Jeonju last week, the hosts went into Tuesday’s encounter hoping home advantage could help secure their passage to the last eight for the first time.

But despite Beijing playing some good football at stages, it was the K-League Classic side who created the better of the chances after twice hitting the woodwork and Jeonbuk advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.

“Though eliminated, we are able to walk out of here with our heads up. My players tried their best and showed their fighting spirit,” added Manzano.

“We improved a lot this year. We qualified from the group as winners so had already made history. Today we lost to a strong opponent by a small margin.

“We are here as a team, no one is exiting on his own. This has been a great experience for us; now we need to rest well and prepare for the upcoming Chinese Super League and FA Cup matches.

“I believe we will have a good season next year.”

Photo: WSG