Guangzhou Evergrande played out a 0-0 draw against defending AFC Champions League winners Kashima Antlers in front of a sell-out crowd at the Tianhe Stadium, giving the Japanese outfit a major advantage going into the second leg.
The game was fairly evenly matched between both teams, and both sides missed early chances, with Brazilians Paulinho and Serginho both failing to find the net for their respective sides from fairly decent opportunities.
Anderson Talisca came close to giving Guangzhou the lead with an intelligent free-kick which looked to creep into the bottom corner of the Kashima net, but a heroic save from Kwoun Sun-Tae kept the game scoreless.
Kashima had more clear-cut chances in the second half, with Ryohei Shirasaki’s long-range effort in the 87th minute standing out in particular as it cannoned off the crossbar, much to the frustration of the traveling fans.
However, the Japanese side will be satisfied with the result, managing to stop Guangzhou Evergrande from scoring on their home turf. The game remains neatly in the balance for the second leg in Ibaraki next month.