Kashima Antlers clinched a 3-1 home victory at Kashima Soccer Stadium on Wednesday 9 May over last year's semi-finalists Shanghai SIPG (China PR) with goals from forward SUZUKI Yuma and defender NISHI Daigo in the first leg of ACL round of 16, as they moved a step closer to their first quarterfinal appearance since 2008.

Under winter-like cold weather and light rain, Kashima, the only Japanese team remaining in the round of 16, entered the match with an aggressive approach, showing their strong intention to clinch the quarterfinals, which they have failed to do in their past four ACL appearances. Facing last year’s semi-finalist Shanghai SIPG, who has also made it to the quarterfinals two years ago, Kashima took control of the match with their high pressure, effectively tallying three goals to win the first leg.

Kashima threatened the opposing goal from early on as midfielder ENDO Yasushi's cross struck the left post, while midfielder NAGAKI Ryota attempted a shot from mid-range.

Shanghai had their opportunity in the ninth minute when Brazilian international OSCAR collected a loose ball and fired a right footed shot, but Kashima’s goalkeeper KWOUN SUNTAE denied it with a superb save. The Chinese side continued to apply pressure by feeding the ball to Oscar, but with their striker, HULK out of the squad with an injury, they failed to create a major threat.

Kashima penetrated the flanks as they sent the ball from side to side, advancing towards the box but struggled to finish with a shot against the solid defence displayed by the opponents. However, in the 43rd minute, Kashima’s defender SHOJI Gen caught the opposing defence off guard when he attempted a shot from distance. His shot induced a corner kick, which resulted in Kashima’s opening goal.

The left corner kick taken by Nagaki was redirected by Shoji’s header. Shanghai’s goalkeeper was able to get his hand on the ball, but Suzuki was there to convert the deflection to score the goal.

Kashima added another goal off a corner kick in the fourth minute of the second half, when Nishi responded to a clear ball from the nearside, slotting the ball into the net to extend the lead to 2-0.

In the 69th minute, Shanghai forward LEI WU picked up a deflection of Kashima's clearance and drove a shot, but his effort was deflected off the left post.

Picking up their rhythm in offence, Shanghai started to show their dominance on the pitch, including seven consecutive corner kicks. Kashima, however, kept them away from scoring a goal, thanks to Kuwoun's fine saves.

Kashima further extended their lead in the 75th minute when ANZAI Koki delivered a cross following a counterattack. His cross was deflected by the opposing defender HAI YU, who was guarding Suzuki running into the box, and rolled into the net to give Kashima their third goal.

Soon afterwards, Shanghai’s forward ELKESON tallied an away goal. He threatened Kashima again with a shot in the 80th minute. Wu also turned a left-footed shot from close range in the closing minutes of the match, but his shot went over the cross bar.

After tenaciously defending against Shanghai's rally, Kashima marked their first home victory in this year’s ACL campaign and their third straight win including J.League matches. The 3-1 victory will give them momentum heading into their second leg away match scheduled on Wednesday 16 May.

In the other match of the East region held on the same day, Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic) beat Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic) 1-0 at home.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

OIWA Go, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
I told my players before they went onto the pitch that we must focus on how we enter the match, which had been our problem. Our players understood the key aspects of the set-pieces and took advantage of them to score goals. I take it very positively that we finished the first of this two-match series with a victory at home. But the second match will be in Shanghai and it will present us with a very difficult challenge. We will reevaluate how we are going to approach the match and prepare ourselves well so that we can win the match. Our mindset is already heading towards the second leg.

FW SUZUKI Yuma (Kashima Antlers)
It was a home match and I was going to play aggressively. Our high pressure upfront worked well, and we were able to control the match especially in the first half. We started the match well and kept playing good football. We scored our goals in a very timely fashion, and it helped us win the match today. The second match is at their home and it will be a totally different match. We can’t win by staying defensive. So, we will play as if it’s still all even.

GK KWOUN SUNTAE (Kashima Antlers)
It is important not to allow goals at home, and I thought the situation would be much better for us with a 3-0 win. So that goal we allowed is disappointing. We need to reflect and correct how we allowed the opponents to come back in the second half. Kashima is a team that deserves to win the title. We have difficult matches ahead of us and many of the teams we face in the ACL displays different styles of football than teams in the J.League. They are more physical, and judges made by the referees are sometimes different, too. We have to play one match at a time, and the next step for us is the upcoming second leg.

VITOR PEREILRA, Coach (Shanghai SIPG)
Allowing three goals is not something we can accept, especially in the way we conceded those goals. In a tournament of this magnitude, making three mistakes like that is unacceptable. But winning a match 2-0 at home is something we can manage. We had plenty of opportunities to score today. So, I believe we can still come back if we can convert those chances while keeping a clean sheet.

Tournament Period：30 January 2018 (Tue.) ～ 10 November 2018 (Sat.)

Tournament Information