Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sydney: Sydney FC defender Michael Zullo has expressed his regret that his side weren’t able to take full advantage of their domination of Ulsan Hyundai as the teams played out a 0-0 draw in their opening 2019 AFC Champions League Group H game on Wednesday.
The home side had 17 shots to Ulsan’s 11 and controlled 56 percent of the possession, but in blustery conditions at Jubilee Stadium in Sydney’s south, the Sky Blues failed to convert any of their chances and extended their goalless run at home in the competition to four matches.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sydney: Sydney FC and Ulsan Hyundai were forced to share the spoils after neither side could find the back of the net in a tight 0-0 draw in their opening 2019 AFC Champions League Group H encounter at Jubilee Stadium on Wednesday.
The home side came out of the blocks the stronger of the two teams with Adam Le Fondre having three good chances in the opening 12 minutes, but the English striker couldn’t find the target with any of his efforts.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Shanghai: Hulk’s late penalty gave Shanghai SIPG a 1-0 victory over luckless Kawasaki Frontale in their Group H clash on Matchday One of the 2019 AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
Frontale quickly took the upper hand and an early effort from Yu Kobayashi was saved before Hidemasa Morita sent a shot wide.
Shanghai were dealt a blow after just six minutes when He Guan was carried off injured to be replaced by Fu Huan.
The visitors continued to take the game to their hosts and Morita again tested Yan Junling from long range in the 12th minute.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changwon: Italian striker Graziano Pelle has bemoaned Shandong Luneng’s missed chances after their entertaining 2-2 draw with Korea Republic’s Gyeongnam FC in their opening 2019 AFC Champions League Group E fixture at Changwon Football Center on Tuesday.
The former Southampton striker, making his first appearance in the competition since the 2016 quarter-finals, was the hero for his side as goals in either half earned a valuable point on the road for the Chinese Super League team.
But having taken a first-half lead, Pelle was disappointed Shandong couldn’t stay in the ascendancy and come away with all three points, especially after they spurned a number of late chances.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ibaraki: Go Oiwa blamed inexperience rather than fatigue for Kashima Antlers’ laboured start to the defence of their AFC Champions League title on Tuesday as the 2018 winners struggled to see off Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Injures to a number of key players – including Yuma Suzuki and Leo Silva - forced Oiwa to field a number of young players for his side’s first game in the group phase of the 2019 campaign, but the eight-time J.League champions still picked up all three points in the Group E clash with a 2-1 win.
“This is the first match of the AFC Champions League and we won the three points, that’s all we can take from this game,” said Oiwa. “You never know what’s going to happen in any game in this tournament and that’s something I told our players."
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ibaraki: Malaysia Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim came away from their long-awaited debut in the group phase of the AFC Champions League on the wrong end of a 2-1 result against title holders Kashima Antlers on Tuesday.
But, while the Southern Tigers made a losing start to the 2019 campaign, head coach Benjamin Mora hailed his players’ performance at the home of the eight-time J.League champions after JDT frustrated Go Oiwa’s side throughout the 90 minutes of their Group E opener.
“We are happy because we made our first appearance in the ACL group stage versus the champions, the last champion that was playing versus Real Madrid, that was playing versus Chivas, and we did very well,” said the Mexican.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Medhi Benatia drew on his FIFA World Cup experience with Morocco and admitted that it was vital Al Duhail made their dominance count with a goal against Esteghlal in Group C of the 2019 AFC Champions League on Tuesday, before they went on to record a 3-0 victory.
After a scoreless first half against the Iranian side, Benatia headed home the first goal as the hour approached to ease any opening-day nerves, before Youssef El Arabi and substitute Ali Afif both got on the scoresheet as the Qatari champions got off to a perfect start.
For Benatia, who was making his AFC Champions League debut after joining from Juventus, the game brought back memories of when he last faced Iranian opposition, back in June.
Morocco dominated against the Islamic Republic of Iran in their opening match at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, only to concede deep into stoppage time and suffer an agonising 1-0 defeat.