Japan

Urawa Reds beat Shanghai SIPG 1-0 to advance to AFC Champions League final

Urawa Reds earned a 1-0 win over Shanghai SIPG in the second-legged AFC Champions League semi-final on Wednesday to seal a 2-1 aggregate victory.

A goal from Rafael Silva in the 11th minute was enough to help the J-League 1’s side secure a place in the final against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.

Urawa head coach said that his side played defense to undermine the attacking prowess from Shanghai star players, such as Oscar, Wu Lei, and Hulk.

“But we should ‘ve stopped them even before they reached the frontal line, which is what we need to improve in the future,” he said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by Xinhua.

The Reds will play Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the two-leg final of AFC Champions League on 18 and 25 November.