Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: Lee Myung-joo has been named the Toyota Player of the Week following last Saturday’s AFC Champions League final second leg after the Korean was on target for Emirati club Al Ain in their 1-1 draw with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the United Arab Emirates.
However, the midfielder's (right) 34th minute goal, that restored parity after Han Kyo-won had opened the scoring for Jeonbuk at Al Ain's Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, was not enough to help overturn the goal advantage the K-League Classic side enjoyed following their 2-1 first leg win on November 19.
Defeated 3-2 on aggregate, inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain finished as continental runners-up for a second time following the 2005 final loss to Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad.
An all-action performance from Lee Myung-joo did, though, earn the former Pohang Steelers man top spot in the Toyota Player of the Week rankings as he was awarded a 7.1 rating following his goal, 32 of 39 passes completed successfully and two duels won.
Substitute Han had come off the bench just five minutes into proceedings after Brazilian winger Ricardo Lopes suffered a knee injury and his strike on the half-hour mark, volleying home Lee Jae-sung’s corner, proved to be crucial.