Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors forward Lee Dong-gook has been named the Toyota Player of the Week for the quarter-final second leg of the 2016 AFC Champions League after scoring a brace as his team beat Chinese side Shanghai SIPG 5-0 in Jeonju.
With the Korea Republic giants 3-0 up at home and cruising into the final ten minutes of the game, the veteran striker popped up to lash home a fine effort from the edge of the box in the 84th minute.
Lee then repeated the feat four minutes after that, controlling a cross from Leonardo with one deft touch and allowing it to run into the box before shooting low into the far right corner of the goal to add some gloss to what was already an impressive margin of victory.
The evergreen 37-year-old completed 11 out of 13 passes on the night and won one duel to accumulate an 8.7 rating as Jeonbuk booked their spot in the semi-finals in an all-Korean affair against FC Seoul.
Teammate Leonardo's efforts in the same game were also recognised as he placed second in the rankings with an 8.2 rating.
With the scores locked at 0-0 in the second half, he received the ball from Kim Shin-wook on the edge of the area but conjured up a moment of sublime skill by firing past four defenders and into the Shanghai net to open the scoring.
The Brazilian midfielder then scored a fine penalty - Jeonbuk's third goal on the night - after Lee Jong-ho was tripped in the box, slotting to Yan Junling's left as the Shanghai custodian dived the other way.
With a pass completion rate of just over 72% on the night, Leonardo was instrumental to Jeonbuk's success in the second leg encounter.
Al Ain custodian Khalid Eisa was one of two goalkeepers in the top five rankings this week, as he kept a clean sheet against Lokomotiv. His 8.0 rating placed him third in the standings.
The Emirati international made 8 saves from 9 shots on target, playing a key part as his team edged past their Uzbekistan opponents by a single goal after the first leg had ended 0-0.
Jeonbuk midfielder Lee Jae-sung and El Jaish goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar completed the top five with identical 7.8 ratings, with the former registering one assist and completing 61 out of 66 passes while the latter made three key saves to help his team to a 1-0 win against Al Nasr.
Photo: Lagardère Sports