AFC Champions League: Guangzhou Evergrande crash out after Vissel Kobe hand Suwon Samsung Bluewings victory
- Shanghai SIPG field all-Chinese team against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to rest stars ahead of Vissel Kobe meeting on Monday
- Takuya Yasui handball gives Suwon Samsung Bluewings a 2-0 win to knock out Fabio Cannavaro’s two-time Asian champions
With Malaysian champions JDT unable to travel to the Covid-19 bubble, group G was a team short and that meant Evergrande had to stay in Doha to wait on Friday’s result.
Tuesday’s 1-1 draw between Fabio Cannavaro’s side and Suwon left progress out of their hands and they would rely on the J-League team, who had already qualified, doing them a favour.
Instead, Vissel Kobe lent Suwon a helping hand.
After taking the lead four minutes after the interval through a Kim Gun-hee header from a Lee Ki-je corner, Suwon needed another.
Guangzhou Evergrande on brink, Shanghai SIPG ship four to Sydney
Enter Vissel Kobe defender Takuya Yasui whose senseless handball in the area gave a penalty that Lim Sang-Hyeob duly dispatched.
Vissel Kobe will play CSL side Shanghai SIPG in the knockouts on Monday. Vitor Pereira fielded an all-Chinese team for their final group game on Friday with the second stage already secured, for the fifth consecutive season.
They lost 2-0 to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, another East Asian heavyweight who will join Guangzhou Evergrande on the plane home.
Veteran player Zheng Zhi has been announced as the next general manager of the club, with a statement that his role will take responsibility from the head coach in reporting to the chairman.
With Shanghai Shenhua also leaving the Doha bubble early, Beijing Guoan are the only other CSL side still in the hunt. They put their 100 per cent record to the test when they meet FC Tokyo on Sunday.
