Guangzhou confident of beating Qataris
President says big-spending club have learned from last year's exit to Middle East opposition
Guangzhou Evergrande will face Middle Eastern opposition in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League for the second year in a row after Marcello Lippi's side were drawn against 2012 Qatar champions Lekhwiya in the next round of the continental championship.
The back-to-back Chinese Super League and FA Cup winners were eliminated 5-4 on aggregate at the same stage last year by two-time winners Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia, despite winning the second leg at home 2-1.
Lippi and his squad will be confident of advancing against a Lekhwiya side that - although boasting up to seven players who have played for the Qatar national team - are playing in the quarter-finals for the first time.
Guangzhou will host the first leg at Tianhe Stadium on August 21 before travelling to Doha on September 18. The winners will meet either Japan's Kashiwa Reysol or Saudi Arabia's Al Shabab in the semi-finals.
"As is the case with any draw, it's not really about which opponent we play but it's more about how strong we are," said Guangzhou president Liu Yong-zhuo. "Last year we had the experience of playing in west Asia and there is an old saying in Chinese: the first time you are a stranger but the second time you are familiar, so we think this year we will perform better than we did last season.
"This year our target has always been to at least reach the semi-finals and … get to the final and maybe win the title and become champions. So we'll do our best."