AFC Champions League: Action Resumes; Al-Ittihad Reach Round of 16

Nine games were contested on Tuesday as group stage play in the AFC Champions League resumed.


Group A:


At Isfahan, Iran:


Hadi Aghili (PK-54') and Ahmad Jamshidian (66') each tallied once at Sepahan defeated visiting Al-Gharafa 2-0.


At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:


Ahmed Ali Kamel (3'), Yasser Al-Qahtani (14'), and Mohammad Al-Shalhoub (80') each tallied once as Al-Hilal defeated visiting Al-Jazira 3-1.


GROUP A STANDINGS:


1. Sepahan Esfahan FC (GP: 3; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
2. Al-Hilal (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
3. Al-Gharafa (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 1)
4. Al-Jazira (GP: 3; GD: -6; PTS; 1)


Group B:


At Doha, Qatar:


Abdul Kader Keita scored the lone goal of the match at 61 minutes as Al-Saad defeated visiting Al-Nassr 1-0.


Group C:


At Tashkent, Uzbekistan:


The match between hosts FC Bunyodkor and Persepolis (Iran) ended in a 0-0 stalemate.


At Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:


Al-Ittihad, with goals courtesy of Abdelmalek Ziaya (32'), Manaf Abushgeer (45'), and Paulo Jorge Vieira Alves (86'), dominated Al-Wahda 3-0 on the road to lay claim to a berth in the knockout stage.


GROUP C STANDINGS:


1. Al-Ittihad* (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. FC Bunyodkor (GP: 3; GD: -1; PTS: 2)
3. Persepolis FC (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 2)
4. Al-Wahda (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 2)


*Clinched berth in knockout stage


Group E:


At Jeju, South Korea:


Shin Young-Rok (53') and Bae Ki-Jong (64') each contributed a goal in the second half as Jeju United came from behind to defeat visiting Gamba Osaka 2-1.


At Tianjin, China:


Kevin Muscat scored at 52 minutes as Melbourne Victory gained a 1-1 road draw with Tianjin Teda.  Marko Zoric scored at 20 minutes for the Chinese club.


GROUP E STANDINGS:


1. Tianjin Teda FC (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
2. Jeju United FC (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
3. Gamba Osaka (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
4. Melbourne Victory (GP: 3; GD: -5; PTS: 1)


Group G:


At Malang, Indonesia:


Mohammad Fakhrudin's stoppage-time penalty kick (90'+3) enabled Arema to pick up their first point of the tournament's group stage as they came back to gain a 1-1 home draw with Shandong Luneng.  Obina scored at 8 minutes for the visiting Chinese club.


At Osaka, Japan:


In what may have been the first competitive match to take place in Japan since last month's earthquake and tsunami, Takashi Inui scored the only goal of the match at 53 minutes as Cerezo Osaka knocked off visiting Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1-0 in front of 11, 351 fans at Nagai Stadium.


GROUP G STANDINGS:


1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
2. Cerezo Osaka (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Shandong Luneng (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
4. Arema FC (GP: 3; GD: -5; PTS; 1)
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