Araki delivers as Sanfrecce give Skibbe winning farewell

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Araki delivers as Sanfrecce give Skibbe winning farewell

Hiroshima: Hayato Araki was pleased to play his part to give outgoing head coach Michael Skibbe a winning farewell after the defender scored the solitary goal in Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s 1-0 win against Shanghai Shenhua FC in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26™ match on Tuesday.

Araki rose highest in the 78th minute to thump home a corner from Naoto Araki to give Sanfrecce the third win of their first continental top tier campaign since 2019.

www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/video/aclelite-|-sanfrecce-hiroshima-jpn-1-0-shanghai-shenhua-fc-chn

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Resilient Melbourne make Vidmar proud; Seoul’s Kim disappointed

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Resilient Melbourne make Vidmar proud; Seoul’s Kim disappointed

Seoul: Head coach Aurelio Vidmar was proud of his side’s resilience after substitute Takeshi Kanamori’s late strike earned Melbourne City FC a 1-1 draw with FC Seoul in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26™ tie on Wednesday.

The point sees the Australian side sitting fourth in the East Zone standings with two matches remaining in the race for the eight Round of 16 spots.

MD6: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN) 1-0 Shanghai Shenhua FC (CHN)

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

MD6: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN) 1-0 Shanghai Shenhua FC (CHN)

Hiroshima: Sanfrecce Hiroshima closed their final AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26™ match of the year with a 1-0 win over Shanghai Shenhua FC in an action-packed encounter at the Hiroshima Soccer Stadium on Wednesday.

Hayato Araki’s strike late in the second half gave Michael Skibbe’s side their second win in five fixtures and moved them up to nine points. China PR’s Shenhua, who are four points adrift, fell to their third consecutive defeat.

MD6: FC Seoul (KOR) 1-1 Melbourne City FC (AUS)

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

MD6: FC Seoul (KOR) 1-1 Melbourne City FC (AUS)

Seoul: Melbourne City substitute Takeshi Kanamori struck 16 minutes from time to cancel out Jesse Lingard’s first-half opener for the hosts and earn the Australian side a 1-1 draw on Wednesday in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26™.

Lingard, playing in his final game for the K League side, gave Kim Gi-dong’s side a 31st minute lead with a first-time finish but Kanamori ensured City extended their unbeaten run in the competition to four matches with a clinical strike into the corner of the home goal.
 
The result moves Melbourne City onto 10 points from six matches with FC Seoul a point behind with two games remaining in the eastern league phase of the competition, which resumes in February.

Hodak hails Persib’s grit; Bangkok’s Totchtawan blames fatigue for defeat

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Hodak hails Persib’s grit; Bangkok’s Totchtawan blames fatigue for defeat

Bandung: Head coach Bojan Hodak was all smiles after Persib Bandung secured their place in the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26™ knockout stage with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bangkok United at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory - sealed by Ramon Tanque’s strike - saw Persib finish on 13 points to claim top spot in Group G with Bangkok United - three points adrift - also advancing.

#AFCU23: 2020 revisited

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

#AFCU23: 2020 revisited

Kuala Lumpur: With the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026™ kicking off in a matter of weeks, we continue our look back at the previous editions of the tournament.

The focus on the latest installment of the series is the 2020 edition, which also offered three spots to the Tokyo Olympics.