Beijing’s Jonathan Viera (centre) is marked by Melbourne’s midfielder Leigh Broxham (right) during their AFC Champions League group E match yesterday.
Doha: Beijing FC yesterday became the first team from Group E to qualify for the 2020 AFC Champions League (East) Round of 16, stretching their winning streak in the competition to four with a 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Goals from Jonathan Viera and Zhang Yuning gave Bruno Génésio’s side a third win in the seven days, taking them beyond the group stage of the competition for the first time since 2015, and doing so with two games to spare.
While Beijing can look forward to the knockout stage, where they will join Japan’s Vissel Kobe, a third successive defeat in the competition leaves Melbourne Victory’s hopes of progression hanging by a thread, with the Australian club now relying on circumstances beyond their control if they are to extend their stay in Doha.
At the Education City Stadium, three second-half-goals saw FC Tokyo record a valuable 2-1 victory against Shanghai Shenhua in Group F, yesterday.
Both sides got the second half of their group stage campaign underway with their eyes firmly focused on moving closer to runaway leaders Ulsan Hyundai who had earlier beaten Perth Glory 2-0.
Meanwhile, a dramatic brace from Bill secured Chiangrai United’s first ever AFC Champions League win, and dealt a blow to FC Seoul’s knockout stage hopes as the Thai club prevailed 2-1 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Just three days after losing 5-0 to the same opposition, Chiangrai stunned the Koreans thanks to their Brazilian striker, who opened the scoring late in the first half, then poked home an 89th minute winner to keep Thailand’s only representative alive in the competition.
The result blows Group E wide open. Seoul remain in second place on six points, with Melbourne Victory and Chiangrai both three points adrift with two matches remaining.
Also yesterday, a dominant Ulsan Hyundai display was rewarded by two late goals as they defeated Perth Glory 2-0 at Education City Stadium in Group F.
The Australian side went into the game knowing anything less than their first-ever AFC Champions League win would mean early elimination on their debut, while Ulsan Hyundai needed the three points to stay clear off FC Tokyo in the race for round-of-16 places.
It took them 87 minutes, but Ulsan Hyundai and Kim In-sung finally got their goal. Júnior Negrao showed quick feet to turn his marker inside out before laying off a through ball to the number seven to slot home the opener.
The Western-Australia based side seemed to collapse after the goal and soon after Ulsan Hyundai added a second. This time Negrao turned from creator to scorer. Lee Chung-yong delivered a low cross from the right that was controlled by Johnsen and passed on to the Brazilian who converted for 2-0.
