Brazilian center-back Jadson clinched a dramatic victory for Shandong Taishan, propelling them into the quarter-finals of the 2023/24 AFC Champions League. This triumph came as they secured a 4-2 win over Kawasaki Frontale in the second leg of their Round of 16 encounter on Tuesday at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium.
Following a 3-2 defeat at home the previous week, Shandong started the away leg strongly. Goals from Cryzan and Gao Zhunyi within the opening 25 minutes propelled them to a 4-3 aggregate lead at Kanagawa Prefecture. Despite strikes from Sota Miura and Erison giving Kawasaki a temporary advantage, Cryzan’s second goal in the 73rd minute leveled the tie.
Yet, it was Jadson who emerged as the hero for Shandong, converting a corner in the seventh minute of injury time to secure a 6-5 aggregate victory and eliminate Kawasaki from the continental competition.
Shandong’s bright start saw Jadson testing Kawasaki goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong early on with a header from a Peng Xinli corner in the fifth minute. The breakthrough came just three minutes later when Li Yuanyi capitalized on a defensive error from Takuma Ominami to set up Cryzan’s equalizer.
Despite Kawasaki’s efforts, including a close call from Kento Tachibanada’s own goal, Shandong extended their lead to 2-0 in the 25th minute through Gao’s well-executed finish. However, Miura’s goal in the 30th minute brought Kawasaki back into contention, leveling the aggregate score at 4-4.
The second half saw Erison putting Kawasaki ahead in the 59th minute, but Cryzan’s second goal of the night equalized the score once again. A tense moment occurred when Shandong’s goalkeeper Wang was initially sent off for a foul on Erison but later had his red card overturned after a VAR review.
In the dying moments, Jadson’s decisive goal secured Shandong’s passage to the next round, capping off a thrilling second leg filled with momentum swings and dramatic twists.