Japan’s remaining representatives in the 2020 AFC Champions League played out their last 16 matches on Monday, with Vissel Kobe taking on Shanghai SIPG of China at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium in the early kick-off, while the late kick-off at the same venue saw Yokohama F. Marinos taking on South Korea’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Spain and FC Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta won out in a midfield battle against former Chelsea man Oscar as he inspired Vissel to a spot in the quarterfinal with a 2-0 victory, while Yokohama suffered a collapse of biblical proportions late in the match as they went from leading 1-0 to losing 3-2 in full-time, confirming their exit from the ACL.
Much of the anticipation surrounding the Vissel-SIPG match was aimed at the battle of wits and talents between the two East Asian sides’ midfield generals, with both Iniesta and Oscar set to play key roles in their teams’ 90-minute tussle for a quarterfinal ticket.
The first 20 minutes of the match was evenly balanced, with Vissel missing out on two golden opportunities from Douglas and Kyogo Furuhashi. With the two teams chasing an opener, it was Vissel who drew first blood in the 31st minute. Hotaru Yamaguchi weighed in the perfect pass for Iniesta, who worked his magic into the SIPG defense. Weaving his way through the SIPG defenders, Iniesta feigns a shot before slamming a low drive straight towards Chen Wei’s goal. The ball struck Wei’s body before rolling its way into the net – giving Vissel the first goal that they’ve been seeking.
Iniesta’s goal sparked SIPG into life as they chased for an equalizer, with Vissel goalie Daiya Maekawa seeing Oscar’s free-kick sailing wide. Furuhashi almost made it 2-0 for Vissel with a one-man-counterattack towards the end of the first half, however the 25-year old winger saw his effort going out for a SIPG goal kick.
Five minutes into the second half, Daigo Nishi placed some insurance on Vissel’s lead after scoring the Hyogo Prefecture-based team’s second, taking advantage of a Furuhashi cross to slam home past Wei. The roles were then reversed as Vissel almost scored a third later in the second half, with Nishi squaring up Furuhashi who once again squandered his chances. Nishi then almost made amends for Furuhashi’s miss, only for his shot to go wide in front of an open SIPG goal.
Iniesta went off in the 68th minute with a knock, which could prove pivotal in Vissel’s chances in the next round, which was confirmed after Thomas Vermaelen performed an admirable block on Wang Shenchao’s 73rd minute attempt, sealing both the clean sheet and the win for Vissel, who advanced to the quarterfinal in their maiden Asian campaign.
Yokohama and Suwon took the Khalifa pitch next and it was Ange Postecoglou’s 2019 J.League 1 champions who managed to initially dictate the pace of the match for their South Korean opponents. Teruhito Nakagawa almost opened the scoring for Yokohama in the 3rd minute with a sliding finish that struck the wrong side of the goalpost, before the 2019 J1 MVP showed his goods in the 20th minute to create Yokohama’s opener.
Both Ken Matsubara and Takuya Kida combined together to feed Nakagawa the ball, who crosses it into the Suwon penalty area. Erik Lima was on hand to receive the cross, stabbing home past Yang Hyung-mo in the Suwon goal.
Spurred on by their opener, Yokohama pushed forward even more in search of their second, however Ange and his Yokohama side were left perplexed by two excellent chances being squandered by Erik, with the Brazilian missing both an open goal from four yards out and a 39th minute shot from inside the area that went agonizingly wide.
With Yokohama being wasteful in front of goal, Suwon seized the opportunity presented to them and emerged out as a different beast in the second half, with Lim Sang-hyeob testing Powell Obinna Obi in the Yokohama goal after 52nd minute.
Suwon then punished Yokohama for their earlier profligacy by stinging in their equalizer in the 57th minute. Kim Min-woo found Kim Tae-hwan, with the latter stepping over his marker and unleashing a left-footed drive that went past Powell.
Yang pulled off an excellent save in the 75th minute to deny Nakagawa from restoring Yokohama’s lead, before Suwon once again punished Yokohama for failing to make that chance count by turning the tides of the match in their favor. Both Min-woo and Kim Gun-hee worked together excellently to allow the former to penetrate the Yokohama defense and slot the ball home through Powell’s legs, giving Suwon the lead in the 82nd minute.
Han Suk-jong then sealed Yokohama’s fate in the 87th minute, with his 50-yard screamer lobbing Powell and leaving the young Nigerian-Japanese goalkeeper utterly speechless as Suwon completed their turnaround.
Ado Onaiwu pulled one back for Yokohama in injury time, however it was too little too late as Suwon, who finished their 2020 K League 1 campaign in an disappointing 8th place finish, hung onto their three goals and emerged out of the tie as 3-2 winners, sending a thoroughly disappointed Yokohama packing.
Both Suwon and Vissel join Chinese Super League giants Beijing Sinobo Guoan and 2020 K League runners-up Ulsan Hyundai in the quarterfinal draw, which will be conducted on Tuesday. The quarterfinal ties are scheduled to be played on December 10th at the Al-Wakrah Sports Complex.