Both remaining Korean sides took to the field on the second day of AFC Champions League knockout action. Ulsan managed an impressive 2-1 win over Urawa Red Diamonds, while Jeonbuk Hyundai were held to a 1-1 draw by Shanghai SIPG.
2017 Champions Urawa have been struggling this season, both domestically and on the continent. The side sit in ninth place in the J.League and just about managed to qualify for this stage at the expense of Buriram United and Beijing Guoan.
However, their struggles continued on Thursday night, as they lost 2-1 at the Saitama World Cup Stadium. The hosts took the lead shortly after the half-hour mark thanks to a header from Kenyu Sugimoto. However, the lead was canceled out shortly before half time as Joo Min-kyu found the net with a thunderous headed effort of his own.
Despite managing more than double the number of shots of their opponents, Urawa were unable to turn their dominance into goals. The visitors would eventually find the winner, with Hwang Il-su capitalizing on his chance down the counter-attack to give his side the victory.
Ulsan’s countrymen Jeonbuk suffered the opposite problem when they traveled to face Shanghai SIPG. It took just a minute for the Korean champions to open the scoring, as Moon Seon-min broke past the hosts’ defensive line and lobbed the perfect through-ball over the head of Shanghai goalkeeper Yan Junling. Defender Wei Zhen thought he had done enough to prevent the goal with his clearance, but a review of Goal-Line Technology confirmed that Jeonbuk’s lead stood.
However, despite conceding early, Shanghai didn’t allow their heads to drop, and Weng Shenchao hit the equalizer for Shanghai shortly before half time. Jeonbuk failed to convert any of their 19 shots into a second goal, meaning that the hosts survived the scare and emerged with a draw.
Both Korean sides will be favorites for the second leg matches next week. Ulsan have a lead to defend, while Jeonbuk will be hoping that they can be more clinical in front of their own supporters.