AFC Champions League: Al-Arabi Eliminated; FC Tokyo, Ulsan Hyundai On Cusp Of Advancing

Eight games were played on Tuesday as the second half of AFC Champions League group-stage action commenced.

Group B:

At Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

Sherzod Karimov (9'), Dilshod Sharofetdinov (74'), and Temurkhuja Abdulholiqov (90'+3) each scored a goal as Pakhtakor eliminated visiting Al-Arabi from the tournament with a 3-1 home win.

At Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

Naif Hazazi's penalty kick in the 79th minute provided all the scoring in Al-Ittihad's 1-0 home win over Bani Yas.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Al-Ittihad (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
2. FC Pakhtakor Tashkent (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
3. Bani Yas (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
4. z-Al-Ababi (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament

Group D:

At Tehran, Iran:

Anas Mubarak provided a stoppage-time equalizer (90'+1) to carry Al-Gharafa to a 1-1 road draw with Persepolis, preventing the hosts from clinching a berth in the knockout stage.  Ali Karimi scored for the hosts at 84 minutes.

At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Youssef El-Arabi scored twice (45', 68') as Al-Hilal came from behind to overtake visiting Al-Shabab 2-1.

GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. Persepolis (GP: 4; GD: +8; PTS: 8)
2. Al-Hilal (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)'
3. Al-Gharafa (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 3)
4. Al-Shabav (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS; 2)

Group F:

At Brisbane, Australia:

Julian Velez (11') and Kwak Tae-Hwi (PK-73') provided the scoring that enabled Ulsan Hyundai  defeat the Brisbane Roar 2-1 on the road.  The South Korean club need only one point from their remaining two games to advance to the knockout stage.

At Tokyo:

Kazuma Watanabe (7'), Yohei Otake (45'), and Tatsuya Yazawa (57') each delivered a goal as FC Tokyo moved to within one point of locking up a knockout-stage berth with a 3-0 home domination of Beijing Guoan.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. FC Tokyo (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 8)
2. Ulsan Hyundai FC (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
3. Brisbane Roar (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)
4. Beijing Guoan (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 2)

Group H:

At Jeonju, South Korea:

Lee Dong-Gook scored twice (25', 27') while Park Won-Jae scored the winning goal in the 80th minute as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated visiting Buriram United 3-2.

At Guangzhou, China:

Muriqui scored twice (57', 84') as Guangzhou Evergrande defeated visiting Kashiwa Reysol 3-1.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. Guangzhou Evergrande FC (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 7)
2. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (GP: 4; GD: -5; PTS: 6)
3. Buriram United FC (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. Kashiwa Reysol (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 4)