It was another AFC Champions League outing to forget for United City FC as they were once again at the receiving end of a brutal beatdown. This time it was Kawasaki Frontale who showed their ruthlessness at the Golden Boys, with the J.League 1 champions thrashing the Philippine Football League winners 8-0 at Tashkent’s Lokomotiv Stadium on Friday. Group I’s other action at the Bunyodkor Stadium also saw another thrashing, this time Daegu FC inflicting a 5-0 defeat on a youthful Beijing Guoan.
Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) 8-0 United City FC (Philippines)
Kawasaki took no prisoners on Friday despite being the heavy favorites in their tie against United City. The likes of Kaoru Mitoma, Akihiro Ienaga, and Leandro Damiao have been reintroduced into the squad having sitting out Kawasaki’s 7-0 demolition of Beijing in Matchweek 2, ensuring that Toru Oniki have the full complement of his best players for the match.
Heavy underdogs United City started off the match brightly and managed to match the Japanese juggernauts for the first 30 minutes, with Anthony Pinthus in the Golden Boys’ goal denying Mitoma twice.
However there was no denying Mitoma in the 34th minute as Kawasaki’s breakout star of 2020 managed to slam home a close-ranged header after Shogo Taniguchi had crossed in from a corner.
Nine minutes later the men in sky blue went two goals up, with Leandro Damiao feeding Ryota Oshima the ball before the latter rifled in a shot from 23 meters out that Pinthus was unable to save.
Whilst United City showed some resistance in the first half, the floodgates well and truly opened on them in the second.
Kawasaki went 3-0 to the good five minutes into the second half, with Miki Yamane supplying Damiao with the ball before the Brazilian beat Pinthus with a powerful shot. Kento Tachibanada then made it 4-0 in the 56th minute, leaving Pinthus well-beaten from 11 meters.
Tachibananda had a great day out at the Lokomotiv, scoring two more goals in the 65th and 70th minute to complete his hat-trick and ensure that Kawasaki would have a commanding 6-0 lead.
Mitoma once again plundered Pinthus’ goal with Kawasaki’s 7th of the match in the 82nd minute, before substitute Yasuto Wakizaka nailed home the final nail on United City’s coffin in the second minute of injury-time, ensuring that Kawasaki would end the match as 8-0 winners.
Daegu FC (South Korea) 5-0 Beijing Guoan (China)
Daegu ensured that they would kept the pressure on Group I leaders Kawasaki with a five-star performance of their own. Taking on a youthful Beijing side at the Bunyodkor Stadium, the South Koreans once again ran rampant and scored five goals without reply to condemn their Chinese counterparts to their second consecutive heavy defeat.
Both teams traded blow early on in the game, with a Park Byung-hyun header and a Leng Jixuan shot threatening to open the scoreline early into the game.
However it was Daegu who drew first blood in the 14th minute. Edgar managed to outmatch a number of other players and rose up the highest to greet An Yong-woo’s cross with a header, blasting the ball past Beijing goalkeeper Guo Quanbo.
Former Buriram United man Edgar then scored a copy of his first goal in the 27th minute to make it 2-0 Daegu, this time with Jeong Chi-in providing the assist.
An error from Guo allowed Cesinha to score Daegu’s third in the 48th minute, smashing home a volley after Guo had fumbled a Yong-woo cross.
Cesinha then bagged his own brace in the 55th minute to make it 4-0 Daegu. Similar to Cesinha’s first goal, Yong-woo provided the cross which the Brazilian finished off sublimely from close-range, with the ball being deflected away from Guo’s reach on its way in.
Finally, substitute Oh Hu-seong added the icing to Daegu’s cake in the second minute of injury-time, smashing in a low cross from the left that completed the 5-0 rout.
Daegu will once again take on Beijing for Matchweek 4 on July 5th as they remain in the Bunyodkor for that match, while United City seek to made amends for their 8-goal humiliation as Kawasaki once again awaits them at the Lokomotiv on the same day.