Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: After some scintillating encounters in the first round of matches last week, the 16 teams in the East Zone are set return to AFC Champions League action in the week ahead.
Teams from Groups E and F will take centre stage on Tuesday, while the sides from Groups G and H will bring a close to Matchday Two’s fixtures on the continent on Wednesday.
Group E
The 2016 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors produced a superb comeback to defeat Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 on their return to the competition and will travel to Hong Kong to face Kitchee SC on Tuesday.
Kitchee lost their maiden AFC Champions League game 3-0 against Tianjin Quanjian and will seek to give their fans something to cheer about when the two-time continental champions come to town.
Elsewhere, Tianjin will aim to build on their winning start when they travel to Japan to take on Kashiwa, who need to bounce back from their disappointing opening-day reversal after being two goals to the good against Jeonbuk.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The opening games in the 2018 AFC Champions League did not disappoint, with the fixtures in the West Zone seeing an average of more than three goals per match.
Just a week after the big kick off, the action returns with Groups A and B taking to the field on Monday, before Groups C and D follow suit a day later.
Group A
Al Jazira claimed their first victory in 16 AFC Champions League games when the Emirati side ran out 3-2 winners over Qatar’s Al Gharafa last week and will be full of confidence ahead of their trip to Jeddah to face Al Ahli on Monday.
Al Ahli also won their opening game of the campaign by claiming a 1-0 victory over the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz, meaning the winner of the top-of-the-table clash will open up a clear lead at the Group A summit.
Elsewhere, both Al Gharafa and Tractorsazi will be desperate to get off the mark after suffering disappointing defeats in their opening games so as to avoid losing touch with the other teams of the group when they square off in Al Rayyan.
Al Gharafa (QAT) v Tractorsazi Tabriz (IRN)
Venue: Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, Al Rayyan
Kick-off: February 19, 18:00 UTC+3
Al Ahli (KSA) v Al Jazira (UAE)
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
Kick-off: February 19, 20:10 UTC+3
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: Ikromjon Alibaev scored the pick of the goals as Lokomotiv Tashkent started their 2018 AFC Champions League campaign in style with a 5-0 win over Al Wahda. The midfielder’s stunning strike from the halfway line was voted the Allianz Goal of the Week, earning 49 percent of the votes.
With his side 1-0 up eight minutes into the second half, Alibaev outmuscled his marker to win the ball at the edge of the centre circle and into Lokomotiv’s own half. The number nine created a perfect 4-v-3 counter-attack situation, but he did not need to use any of his teammates.
In a moment of magic, the midfielder spotted goalkeeper Rashed Ali off his line and went for the spectacular, sending a chipped effort from just behind the halfway line that whistled into the back of the net as the Lokomotiv Stadium erupted.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Melbourne Victory's Leroy George has been named the Toyota Player of the Week for the opening round of the 2018 AFC Champions League.
The flying Dutchman (pictured above), netted a brace against Korean visitors Ulsan Hyundai in their 3-3 draw in their Group F opener at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Monday.
George's first came from close range after Mislav Orsic had put the K-League in front, he once again cancelled out Ulsan's lead shortly after the half hour following Austrian defender Richard Windbichler's header.