Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Brazilian star Oscar pinpointed Urawa Red Diamonds’ goal in the first leg of the 2017 AFC Champions League semi-final as the difference maker after his Shanghai SIPG side were eliminated at the final four stage on Wednesday.
The Chinese Super League club fell agonisingly short of a first ever AFC Champions League final appearance at Saitama Stadium, being eliminated 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 semi-final second leg defeat away to the J.League team.
Andre Villas-Boas’s side lost by the same score when the sides clashed at Saitama Stadium in the group stage too, but Oscar believes the most important goal scored between the teams in this year’s competition was converted in the semi-finals first leg on September 27.
Yosuke Kashiwagi struck that killer blow in the 27th minute of the meeting in Shanghai – leveling things up after Hulk had given SIPG an early lead – and the 26-year-old feels it was one from which he and his teammates were ultimately unable to recover.
“I think the key for Urawa was the goal against Shanghai in the first game,” former Chelsea star Oscar said. “I think that was the key. They had just one shot and they scored the goal.”