News

#ACLElite - Matchday 6 (East): 3 Takeaways

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

#ACLElite - Matchday 6 (East): 3 Takeaways

Kuala Lumpur: Matchday Six of the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26™ (East) witnessed intense battles as the race for Round of 16 spots gathered pace.

The-AFC.com highlights three things that caught the eye with the battles to resume in February, 2026.

#ACLElite - MD6 (East): In numbers

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

#ACLElite - MD6 (East): In numbers

Kuala Lumpur: Matchday Six (East) of the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 concluded this past week with the race for Round of 16 places remaining tight.

After an exciting matchday, the-AFC.com picks out several facts and figures that caught the eye from the East Zone.

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.

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-|-fc-seoul-kor-1-1-melbourne-city-fc-aus

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

www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/photo/md6-fc-seoul-kor-v-melbourne-city-fc-aus

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.

www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite.html/photo/md6-sanfrecce-hiroshima-jpn-v-shanghai-shenhua-fc-chn

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.

Buriram’s Jackson, Gangwon’s Chung satisfied with stalemate

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

Buriram’s Jackson, Gangwon’s Chung satisfied with stalemate

Buriram: Mark Jackson and Chung Kyung-ho came away relatively pleased with the 2-2 draw between Buriram United and Gangwon FC in the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 on Tuesday.

An action-packed encounter at Buriram Stadium saw the Thai side come from behind to lead 2-1 before Kim Dae-won’s 74th penalty meant a share of the points, with Jackson praising the response shown by his charges.

Chen stands tall for Port; JDT’s Munoz positive despite dropped points

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

Chen stands tall for Port; JDT’s Munoz positive despite dropped points

Iskandar Puteri: Goalkeeper Chen Wei cut a delighted figure after his heroics earned Shanghai Port FC a goalless draw with Johor Darul Ta’zim in their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 tie on Tuesday.

Chen Wei made an outstanding 11 saves with the home side registering 48 shots, including 12 on target to earn the Chinese Super League side only the second point of their campaign.