The round of 16 fixtures of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2020 took place at Doha, Qatar on Sunday 6 and Monday 7 December, where ACL debutant Vissel Kobe won 2-0 against Shanghai SIPG (China PR) to make their way into the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Yokohama F. Marinos lost to Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic) 2-3, while FC Tokyo also lost to Beijing Sinobo Guoan (China PR) 0-1. Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic) was the remaining team advancing from the eastern division, as they defeated Melbourne Victory (Australia) 3-0 to clinch the quarterfinals. A drawing will be held on 8 December to determine the quarterfinal fixtures that will take place on 10 December.

Iniesta’s opener propels Kobe

Kobe showcased a superb overall performance to dominate Shanghai SIPG, who has become a familiar face at the ACL knockout stage and semi-finalist from 2017, as the Japanese side advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to the goals score by Andres INIESTA and NISHI Daigo.

After winning the Emperor's Cup, Kobe made their first ever appearance at the ACL. At the group stage, Kobe was grouped in Group G, where they saw Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia) withdraw from the competition due to the travel restriction set by the Malaysian government. With just three teams remaining in the group, Kobe managed to clinch their spot into the round of 16 early in the group stage, resting their core players in the final two fixtures ahead of the knockout stage.

With the players given plenty of rest ahead of the round of 16, the Kobe side showed great energy against Shanghai SIPG. Led by Iniesta, the Kobe offence created many opportunities, as DOUGLAS, FURUHASHI Kyogo, and Nishi made attempts to threaten the opposing goal. The opening goal came in the 31st minute, when YAMAGUCHI Hotaru delivered a pinpoint pass to Iniesta, who made a superb turn just outside the penalty area and fired a shot that snuck by the Shanghai GK, giving Kobe a one goal lead. Furuhashi and Douglas both made attempts towards the end of the first half but fell short from adding a goal to Kobe’s tally.

Shanghai was playing their seventh match of the competition and they were missing their striker HULK for this match, leaving OSCAR to lead the offence. The Brazilian midfielder came close to scoring in many occasions, including an attempt from a FK, but couldn’t get the ball past the Kobe GK MAEKAWA Daiya.

In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, Shanghai made changes during halftime, but Kobe continued to take control over the match. Kobe’s second goal came in the 50th minute, when Furuhashi penetrated the left flank, before sending a cross towards the middle, allowing Nishi to redirect the ball into the net. Despite seeing Iniesta leave the match due to injury in the 68th minute, Kobe continued to dominate the match and kept a clean sheet to advance to the quarterfinals.

Following the match, Kobe’s coach MIURA Atsuhiro mentioned, “This was a very tough match, but the players understood and executed the team concept to earn this victory.” When asked about his decision to use Nishi in a more advance role than usual, the coach explained that he has been evaluating the players’ competence through their league matches and that the decision was made “to earn the best result at the ACL.” Coach Miura also mentioned, “We will spend the next two days preparing ourselves ahead of our next match.”

After being named as the match MVP, Iniesta commented, “I am happy that I was able to score a goal that helped the team win the match and advance to the next round.” The Spanish midfielder also mentioned, “We would like to continue to make history for the club. Regardless of who we face next, we will continue to showcase our football to fight for our spot into the semi-finals.”

Marinos fails to convert early opportunities

Last season’s J.League champion, Yokohama F. Marinos, made their first ACL appearance since 2014. After topping the group in Group H, the Yokohama side reached the round of 16 for the first time in club history but fell short from advancing to the quarterfinals, as they conceded three goals to Suwon Samsung Bluewings in a 2-3 loss.

With the Korean side showing great intensity from the beginning of the match, Yokohama struggled to connect their passes, but managed to score the opening goal in the 20th minute, when NAKAGAWA Teruhito responded to a through ball sent by KIDA Takuya and delivered a cut back towards the goal, allowing ERIK to redirect the ball into the net. Nakagawa created another opportunity in the 34th minute, this time setting up a shot for Marcos JUNIOR, but his shot could not capture the goal. Erik followed in the 40th minute, as he carried the ball into the box and struck a shot, but his effort also failed to hit the target.

After seeing Yokohama failing to convert their chances, Suwon rallied in the second half. The Korean side who reached the ACL semi-finals in both 2011 and 2018, started to show more aggression to win the ball and gradually took control of the match. In the 52nd minute, Yokohama’s GK OBI Powell Obinna made a tremendous save to deny LIM Sang-Hyub from scoring a goal, but following this play, the Japanese side started to show signs of fatigue and made more mistakes in the midfield.

Following the equaliser scored by KIM Tae-Hwan in the 57th minute, Suwon gained more momentum, which led to the go-ahead goal scored by KIM Min-woo in the 82nd minute. Just five minutes later, HAN Seok-Jong struck a superb shot from the halfway line to make it 3-1. Despite scoring back a goal in additional time, Yokohama was not able to level the match, leaving the ACL at the round of 16.

Yokohama’s coach Ange POSTECOGLOU showed his remorse after the match, “We had to finish off the match during the first half.” The coach continued by mentioning, “We lacked fluency and committed to many costly mistakes in the second half.” However, the Australian coach also shared his thoughts regarding their experience at the ACL, “Our club has never played at this level before. Many of our players have never experienced this level, so this match gave our players a wonderful learning experience.”

Kida also reflected on the match, “Suwon wanted the match more than we did. Including the mental aspect, we did not have what it takes to move onto the next round. We must return to this stage and make a deeper run next time.”

Third time not the charm for Tokyo

Following 2012 and 2016, FC Tokyo made their third round of 16 appearance at the ACL, but once again failed to reach the quarterfinals. With the team fighting through the group stage where matches were played every three days, coach HASEGAWA Kenta frequently rotated his line-up and actively utilised young players to reach the round of 16. In their first match at the knockout stage, coach Hasegawa made seven changes to their starting line-up since their previous match.

Similar to FC Tokyo, Beijing Sinobo Guoan has made three round of 16 appearances at the ACL, but never reached the quarterfinals. With French coach Bruno GENESIO taking the helm in July 2019, the Beijing side topped Group E with a record of five wins and one draw. After resting their core players in the final group stage match, the team rotated eight players from the starting line-up of the previous match.

The match started with Renato AUGUSTO, ALAN, and Jonathan VIERA orchestrating the Beijing attacks, while MORISHIGE Masato led the Tokyo defence to deny the Chinese side from scoring a goal. A close opportunity was created for Tokyo in the 23rd minute, when LEANDRO responded to a deflection induced by HARA Daichi’s shot. Leandro also made an attempt from a FK before halftime, but both attempts fell short from scoring the opener.

Despite creating some close opportunities in the first half, the Tokyo side started to show signs of fatigue and frequently lost possession of the ball in the second half. Beijing did not fail to capitalise on the situation, as Augusto and Viera combined to create an opportunity in the right side and assisted the goal of Alan in the 59th minute.

In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, Tokyo brought TAKAHAGI Yojiro and ADAILTON onto the pitch in the 68th minute, shifting their formation to add layers in the midfield. KONNO Kazuya, NAKAMURA Hotaka, and UCHIDA Takuya were also sent from the bench in the closing minutes, but the Tokyo side failed to capture the equaliser, ending their ACL run at the round of 16 for the third time.

Following the match, coach Hasegawa reflected on their performance, “While we struggled to score a goal, our opponent capitalised on our mistake. Our response was a tad late in that one moment.” The coach continued to show his disappointment, “We were behind by just a step or two, and our opponent was ahead of us by a small margin.” HIGASHI Keigo repeatedly expressed his disappointment and commented, “We must improve ourselves both as a team and as individuals.”

At the end of his interview, coach Hasegawa shared his thoughts regarding the tournament, “Because of the support of AFC, JFA, and J.League, we were able to participate in a wonderful tournament like this. The fact that we were able to play football under such hectic times should help us overcome whatever obstacle life throws at us in the future.”

Tournament Information