That victory, delivered courtesy of first-half goals from Alex Teixeira, Ramires, and Hong Jeong-ho, extended Jiangsu\u2019s 100% record in this year\u2019s competition to four games and leaves them home free with two matches to spare.
\nJiangsu had never previously made it beyond the AFC Champions League group stages, but this year\u2019s squad has demonstrated resilience and ruthlessness in equal measure.
\nPossession not everything
\nIt may well be nine-tenths of the law, but Jiangsu proved here that possession is not vital in order to win football matches.
\nThe home side had just 27.2% of the ball over the course of the 90 minutes at Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, but despite Gamba toiling away with the remaining 72.8% it was Jiangsu who emerged as comfortable 3-0 victors.
\nRather than concerning themselves with countless short passes, as the visitors spent long periods of the game doing, Jiangsu instead looked to pack a punch when they did have the ball, and three snappily converted goals gave them plenty of reward for that approach.
\nDefensive solidity lays foundations for effective counters
", "headline": "Analysis: Ruthless Jiangsu cruise into Round of 16", "description": "Nanjing: Jiangsu FC became the first side to progress to the AFC Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday night, securing top spot in Group H with a 3-0 win over Gamba Osaka.\r\n", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "url": "https://www.the-afc.com/", "name": "the AFC" }, "image": "https://assets.the-afc.com/migration/a/q/aqoee5rf8sj14eca2o1l.jpg", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "datePublished": "2017-04-13", "url": "www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league/news/analysis_ruthless_jiangsu_cruise_into_round_of_16.html" }
