The first two matches of the 2020 AFC Champions League round of 16 for the East Zone clubs were played out on Sunday, with China’s Beijing Sinobo Guoan taking on Japan’s FC Tokyo at the Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar, while South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai face-off against Australian underdogs Melbourne Victory at the same venue in the late kick-off. Beijing managed to edge out FC Tokyo 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinal, while Ulsan ended Victory’s remarkable run in the ACL with a resounding 3-0 triumph.
Along with this year’s participation, FC Tokyo have taken part in three ACL campaigns, with 2012 and 2016 being the other years that the Gasmen have competed in Asia’s premier club competition. And in FC Tokyo’s previous two ACL runs, they were eliminated in the round of 16 at the hands of Chinese clubs – Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao took them out in 2012, while 2016 saw Shanghai SIPG triumphing in away goals over the Gasmen. So when FC Tokyo were drawn against Beijing in this year’s round of 16, things weren’t looking good for Kenta Hasegawa’s men.
The opening 15 minutes of the encounter saw high-octane action from the two teams, both of them knowing all too well about the stakes that this match has. Both Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Leandro led the charge for FC Tokyo as they pressed high up the field, forcing Beijing to shell themselves up within their own territory. However, slowly but surely, Beijing started to gain control of the proceedings, with A Lan (the naturalized name of Beijing’s Brazilian-born striker Alan Carvalho) drilling a low shot wide after an excellent ball from Brazilian teammate Fernando before half-time.
A Lan, on loan at Beijing from Guangzhou, acted once again as Beijing’s offensive spearhead in the second stanza, capitalizing a pass from Renato Augusto to attempt a shot at goal. However, much to the relief of Go Hatano in the FC Tokyo goal, A Lan inexplicably missed out from 12 yards.
There was no denying A Lan in the 59th minute though. Renato made a blistering run down the right flank before picking up A Lan inside the area, with the latter poking home from close range to give Beijing the 1-0 lead.
A Lan then went off in the 67th minute with a knock and was replaced with Zhang Yuning, however the loss of their talisman did not deter Beijing one bit, who forced Hatano into making a save after Renato had thumped a powerful drive in an attempt to double his team’s lead. Try as FC Tokyo might, but the Gasmen rarely troubled Beijing goalkeeper Hou Sen, allowing Bruno Genesio’s Beijing to retain their slender lead over their Japanese opposition – cementing a third exit from the ACL at the hands of Chinese clubs for Kenta Hasegawa’s charges.
Four hours after Beijing and FC Tokyo kicked-off their round of 16 clash, it was Ulsan and Victory’s turn to dance at the Education City. The latter had started their ACL journey way back in the second qualifying round in January, dismantling Liga 1 Indonesia champions Bali United 5-0 at the AAMI Park. Since then Victory had finished second-bottom in the 2019-20 A-League season, cycling through Marco Kurz, Carlos Salvachua, before settling on Grant Brebner as their head coach. However, on the continental stage, Victory managed to eliminate J.League 1 giants Kashima Antlers, before coming back from the brink of elimination to clinch a place in the last 16 with a 2-1 win over FC Seoul in the last matchweek of the group stages.
This sets the stage for an intriguing encounter for the Big V against FC Seoul’s countrymen in Ulsan Hyundai and compared to FC Seoul who had a disappointing domestic season, Grant’s Victory found themselves facing the reigning runners-up of both the K-League and the Korean FA Cup for the 2020 season.
Almost from the get-go Victory were immensely troubled by their in-form opposition, with former Yanbian Funde man Yoon Bit-garam and former Muangthong United and Pattaya United striker Junior Negrao threatening Max Crocombe in the Victory goal. The loss of both captain Leigh Broxham and new signing Callum McManaman had affected Victory quite considerably and the Big V were given a further blow after Adama Traore went off injured after 15 minutes.
Despite the odds against them, Crocombe managed to keep Victory in the game with a string of superb saves, one of which denying a golden goalscoring opportunity from Ulsan’s Kim In-sung, thus allowing the Australians to force their South Korean counterparts to a 0-0 draw on half-time.
Ulsan picked up where they left off in the second half and Negrao once again threatened Crocombe’s goal, with the former Salford City goalkeeper performing yet another save to deny the Brazilian’s volley.
However, despite their best efforts, Victory were finally undone in the 65th minute after substitute Bjorn Johnsen pounced on a loose ball and placed a shot out of Crocombe’s reach to give Ulsan the single goal advantage. Won Du-jae then scored Ulsan’s second in the 77th minute, smashing home a header from a set-piece taken by Yoon, before Norway international Johnsen completed his brace in the 86th minute.
Both Beijing and Ulsan will await the winners of December 7th’s round of 16 ties between Vissel Kobe and Shanghai SIPG as well as Yokohama F. Marinos and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, both taking place at the Khalifa International Stadium. The draw for the quarterfinal will be done on December 8th, after the four slots were all filled up.