Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Zlatan Ljubijankic thinks Urawa Red Diamonds conceding first in their AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg against Kawasaki Frontale was just the shock they needed to spark a sensational comeback and book their place in the semi-finals.
Elsinho put Kawasaki 1-0 up on the night and 4-1 ahead on aggregate with a 19th minute opener, but Shinzo Koroki equalised in the 35th minute before Ljubijankic headed home Reds’ second seven minutes after coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute.
That set the wheels in motion for an incredible 4-1 win on the night thanks to two further goals inside the space of two minutes from Rafael Silva and Toshiyuki Takagi, which Ljubijankic feels would not have been possible if Urawa hadn’t gone behind.
“Now if you look like that it’s certain,” he said. “You never know what would happen if they didn’t score, but if you look now maybe it was better that they scored and we could change our mind and come back – maybe it was better that way."
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/urawa_heads_jpg.html
