Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kobe: Diego Forlan followed his crucial winner in the 2-1 AFC Champions League victory over Shandong Luneng with two more goals as Cerezo Osaka returned to domestic duty with a 2-2 draw against Vissel Kobe on Saturday.
The Uruguay international, who scored a 48th minute winner as Cerezo defeated Shandong in China last Wednesday (pictured), bagged the first of his brace in the 54th minute to cancel out Pedro Junior’s opener, with the Brazilian putting the home side one up with four minutes of the first half remaining.
Forlan netted his and Cerezo’s second in the 62nd minute only for Pedro Junior’s Brazilian compatriot Marquinhos to earn Vissel a share of the spoils with a 78th minute penalty.
The draw against high-flying Vissel saw Cerezo slip to 11th in the standings with nine rounds of the 2014 J.League played.
Cerezo’s 2-1 win over Shandong saw them finish second in the ACL 2014 Group E standings and the Osaka side will again face Chinese opposition in their next continent fixture when they host defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash on May 6.
Photo: WSG