AFC CL: Cerezo Osaka Blast Shandong Luneng To Advance To Sweet 16

The final week of group stage play in the AFC Champions League commenced on Tuesday with eight games.


Group C:


At Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:

Seleh Seleh (14') and Mohamed Al Shehhi (70') tallied once apiece as Al-Wahda defeated visitng Persepolis 2-0.


At Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

Nuno Assis scored at 30 minutes to lift Al-Ittihad to a 1-1 home draw with FC Bunyodkor, enabling the hosts to win the Group C title.  Milos Trifunovic scored at 14 minutes for the visiting Uzbekistani club, who also qualified for the group stage.


FINAL GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Al-Ittihad (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
2. FC Bunyodkor (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 9)
3. Al-Wahda (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Persepolis FC (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 5)


Al-Ittihad and FC Bunyodkor advanced to the knockout stage.


Group D:


At Al-Rayyan, Qatar:

Abdulghafoor Murad (74') and Ahmed Alaaeldin (90') provided the second-half scoring as Al-Rayyan eliminated Emirates Club from the tournament with their 2-0 home victory.


At Isfahan, Iran:

Al-Shabbab secured passage to the knockout stage with their 1-0 road win over group-winning Zob Ahan.  Fisal Bin Sultan scored the only goal of the match at 57 minutes for the guests from Saudi Arabia.


FINAL GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. Zob Ahan Isfahan FC (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 13)
2. Al-Shabab (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
3. Emirates Club (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 6)
4. Al-Rayyan (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 4)

Zob Ahan and Al-Shabab advanced to the knockout stage.


Group G:


At Jeonju, South Korea:


Krunoslav Lovrek's hat trick (1', 45'+2, 60') helped knockout-stage-bound Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors demolished visiting Arema 6-0.


At Osaka, Japan:


Rodrigo Pimpao (39'), Hiroshi Kiyotake (47'), Takashi Inui (73'), and Shu Kurata (81') each tallied once as Cerezo Osaka locked up a berth in the knockout stage with a 4-0 home frontier-styled fist beating of Shandong Luneng, eliminating the Chinese club from the tournament.


FINAL GROUP G STANDINGS:


1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (GP: 6: GD: +12; PTS: 15)
2. Cerezo Osaka (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 12)
3. Shandong Luneng (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
4. Arema FC (GP: 6; GD: -20; PTS: 1)


Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Cerezo Osaka advanced to the knockout stage.


Group H:


At Tokyo:


Yuya Osako (64') and Takuya Nozawa (84') each scored a second-half goal as Kashima Antlers came from behind to defeat visiting Sydney FC.


At Shanghai, China:


Suwon Samsung Bluewings locked up top spot in Group H with a 3-0 road win over Shanghai Shenhua.  Park Jong-Jin (13'), Ha Tae-Gyun (56'), and Woo Seung-Je (89') each tallied once for the Bluewings.


FINAL GROUP H STANDINGS:


1. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (GP: 6; GD: +9; PTS: 12)
2. Kashima Antlers (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
3. Sydney FC (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 5)
4. Shanghai Shenhua (GP: 6; GD: -10, PTS: 2)


Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Kashima Antlers advanced to the knockout stage.