Al-Jazira 2–1 Esteghlal

UAE League side Al-Jazira is one of the weakest teams in the ACL based on results over the past 2 seasons. However with few expecting them to do much against group leaders Esteghlal, the stepped up to the mark and broke Esteghlal’s unbeaten record.

The visitors took an expected lead five minutes before half-time. Hossein Kazemi’s mazy run ended with Farhad Majidi coolly placing his finish beyond Ali Khasif. Esteghal looked set ease to victory but Khosro Heydari grabbed a deserved equaliser shortly after half-time before Tariq Ahmed sent the home fans into raptures three minutes late with a wonderful long range strike.

Al Ahli 0–1 Al-Gharafa

Al-Garafa had failed to emerge from the group stages in their last four ACL campaigns and having already sealed their qualification, a last minute Naser Kamel winner has seen them top the group. Garafa will face Pakhtakor in the knockout stage.

Kawasaki Frontale 3-0 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

Kawasaki Frontale have given themselves a great chance of advancing by beating Seongnam 3 – 0 at home. They now travel to Beijing Gouan on the final matchday only one point behind the Chinese Super League team, with the winner progressing alongside Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.

Frontale were two goals ahead by the 20 minute mark. Hiroyuki Taniguchi opened the scoring after five minutes and Yusuke Tasaka doubled the lead 15 minutes after. It remained 2 – 0 until the 79th minute when Renatinho scored the third.

Melbourne Victory 0-0 Beijing Gouan

Melbourne earned their first draw and fourth point of the group stage. The 1 point however, wasn’t enough to keep them in contention. Beijing missed the chance to go three points clear of Kawasaki and instead face the Japanese in a winner takes all shootout on matchday 6.

Group F

Changchun Yatai 0-1 Kashima Antlers

Kashima scored in the first half through Shinzo Koroki to see off Changchun Yatai on matchday five in the AFC Champions League. Shinzo pounced upon a Samuel Caballero error in the 37th minute to put it past the goalkeeper.

Kashima have an unbeaten record so far in the competition and will be a great match-up in the round of 16 where they will either face Pohang Steelers or Adelaide United.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 8-0 Persipura Jayapura

Persipura Jayaspura received another hiding in Match Day 5. The Indonesian minnows were hammered 8-0 by K-League outfit, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Eninho, Park Won Jae and a Lee Dong Gook penalty put the hosts well in the clear by half time. Eninho and Jung Jin Seo added the fourth and fifth goals just after half-time before 3 goals in the space of 10 minutes made it eight.

Jeonbuk are set to face the winners of Group H in the last 16 should they fail to claim all three points at Kashima on matchday 6. Persipura remain pointless with a goal difference they surely can’t be proud of.

Group A
AFC Asian Champions League Group A was settled today, with Esteghlal securing their qualification with a home win over Al Ahli while a hat-trick from Brazilian Araujo meant that Al Gharafa now also progress.

Esteghlal 2–1 Al Ahli

Esteghlal booked their spot in the round of 16 thanks to a 2-1 victory over Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

Mehdi Salehi put the hosts ahead after 25 minutes, shooting past Yasser Al Mosailem in the Al Ahli goal. Brazilian Victor Simoes equalised from the penalty spot ten minutes later before Amirhossein Saghedi headed Esteghlal into the final 16 right on half-time.

Al Gharafa 4-2 Al-Jazira

Former Cruzeiro striker Araujo has been a revelation since joining the Cheetahs in 2007 and he was the hero again this evening, striking a hat-trick to sink UAE League outfit Al-Jazira and sending Al Gharafa into the knockout stages.

The Brazilian headed his first on 11 minutes, leaping to nod home a Juninho cross, and then doubled the lead five minutes before the break. Any hope Al-Jazira had of a comeback were quickly quashed when the Brazilian hitman completed his hat-trick a minute after the break, latching onto a mistake from Jazira goalkeeper Ali Kashief Housani. By the time Otman El Assas made it four shortly after the hour mark, the game was already up. Former Betis striker Rafael Sobis pulled one back for the visitors before Ali Albloushi grabbed a second consolation in the final minute.

Group B
Hassan Amin’s scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute to give Al Wahda an unexpected win over group leaders Zobahan.

Al Wahda 1-0 Zobahan

Al Wahda hasn’ had a good tournament so far sitting last in Group B. Iran’s Zobahan, meanwhile, have been one of the stand-out performers of this season’s competition, having achieved an unexpected double over Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Bunyodkor.

The hosts made a thrilling start to the game and should have had the game won at half-time. They finally scored in the 71st minute thanks to a fine solo effort from Amin to clinch a bit of pride for the 2007 semi-finalists.

Al-Ittihad 1–1 Bunyodkor

Bunyodkor were hoping for an improved performance this week after 2 straight defeats. Scolari knew defeat would all but eliminate them. The hosts went ahead through a 37th minute penalty, however, Aziz Haydarov’s equaliser just after the hour was enough to clinch a point and save the day. All will now be decided on matchday six when Bunyodkor host Al Wahda and Al-Ittihad travel to Iran to face Zobahan.

Seongnam Ilhwa made it four in a row in Group E to go through while Suwon Bluewings made sure of their advance in Group G.

Group A

Esteghlal, of Iran, drew 1-1 away to Qatar’s Al Gharafa and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli scored a 2-0 away win over Al Jazira.

Younis Mahmoud gave Gharafa a 1-0 lead before the interval but Mehdi Salehi equalised for the visitors on 58 minutes.

Brazilian striker Victor was the hero for Ahli. He scored a goal in each half with Jazira down to 10 men following the second-half sending off of midfielder Sultan Al Menhali.

Group C

Sepahan have put themselves back into contention for a round of 16 place after their 2-0 home victory over Pakhtakor while Shabab beat Al Ain 3-2 at home.

Ibrahima Toure and Mohsen Bengar scoring within the last 17 minutes to earn victory for Sepahan.

Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Camacho rounded off a stirring comeback by Shabab with his late winner against Al Ain. Flavio gave Shabab the lead after 11 minutes before Jose Sand and an own goal from defender Masead Nada handed the visitors the lead on 60 minutes.

Camacho then set up Flavio for the equaliser before finishing it off himself with seven minutes remaining.

Group E

Korea Republic’s Seongnam have earned a place in the next round after their 1-0 away victory over China’s Beijing Guoan.

Melbourne Victory won for the first time after three straight defeats, beating Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 at home.

Mauricio Molina scored with 15 minutes remaining for Seongnam. Whilst in the other game Kevin Muscat scored a penalty to breath some life into Melbourne’s campaign.

Group G

Suwon Bluewings have also progressed into the last 16 with a 2-0 home victory over China’s Henan Jianye.

Gamba Osaka beat Singapore Armed Forces 3-0 at home to boost their chances.

Jose Mota followed up his two goals against Henan from last week with an early strike on Wednesday with Kim Dae-ui adding the second.

Goals from defender Michihiro Yasuda, Shoki Hirai, and substitute Ze Carlos gave Gamba an easy win.

Al Gharafa couldn’t compete with Esteghlal today and went down 3-0 in the Azadi Stadium today. Esteghlal striker Farhad Majidi bagged himself two goals today. Majidi put the hosts ahead after a quarter of an hour before doubling their lead ten minutes after the break. Defender Pejman Montazeri then sealed the victory ten minutes from time.

In Group A’s other fixture, Al-Ahli, who so far have leaked five goals in their first two matches, turned things around against Al Jazira scoring 5 goals and winning 5-1. Ahli took the lead withing 2 minutes of the kick-off through Brazilian striker Victor Simoes and never looked back. Abdulrahim Jezawi scored two goals and the Saudi’s other Brazilian Marcinho also bagged a brace while Ivory Coast striker Toni Nantcho grabbed a consolation for Al-Jazira.

Group B
Zob Ahan 3 – 0 Bunyodkor
Al Wahda 0 – 2 Al Ittihad

Iranian side Zob Ahan stood out after their stunning 3-0 victory over Uzbek glamour side Bunyodkor.  The victory puts them on top of Group B. Two of Zob Ahan’s goals were stand-out with Mohammed Hosseini firing the hosts ahead before Mohammad Ghazi made it 2-0. Mohammad Khalatbari hit the last goal 10 minutes from time.

Former two-time champions and last year’s runners-up Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia picked up their first full points in this year’s competition with a 2-0 defeat of UAE’s Al Wahda.

The Jeddah giants were sitting with a loss and a draw so far in the competition, but goals from Abdulmalik Ziaya and Mohamed Nour helped them to their first win.

Group C
Pakhtakor Tashkent 2–1 Sepahan
Al-Ain 2-1 Al Shabab

An Alexander Geynrikh free kick gave Pakhtakor a deserved win over Iranian champions Sepahan and first place in Group Ch. Artur Geykorian’s low shot put the hosts in front five minutes before the break, only for Ahmad Jamshidian to head in an equaliser in first-half injury time. However, with 20 minutes remaining, Geynrikh swung in a free kick that beat several players before hitting the back of the net. Sepahan have had two draws and a defeat so far, making it difficult for them to progress past this stage.

Al Shabab came into their clash with Al-Ain with a number first team players unavailable and Jaime Pacheco’s side found themselves two down after 25 minutes. Former Flamengo striker Emerson but the hosts on their way 15 minutes in before Argentinian forward Jose Sand doubled their lead ten minutes later. Abdulaziz Bin Saran pulled a goal back for the White Lions but it wasn’t enough to save the 2006 quarter-finalists.

Group D
Al Sadd 4 – 1 Mes Kerman
Al Hilal 1 – 1 Al Ahli

Qatari giants Al Sadd showed Mes Kerman who’s the boss by beating them 4 – 1 whipping at the Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Strikes by in-form Brazilian Leandro, who neutralised Mes’ lead through Edinho, before adding another, this was followed by goals from Felipe Jorge and Talal Al Baloushi.

The contest was well over within the hour and Al Sadd are now a point removed from section leaders Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia to whom they lost in their opening match. Mes are stranded on three points.

The other group game between Al Hilal and Al Ahli ended in 1-1 draw. Al Hilal’s form has been such that they were tipped to destroy the visiting side by a huge margin.  But the Saudi champions from Riyadh wasted many opportunities even as Mohamed Al Mahyani put them ahead only for the lead to be cancelled by Hosni Abd Rabou’s stoppage-time heartbreaker.

Al Ahli goalkeeper Abdulla Yousif stood firm and guarded his net against numerous Al Hilal assaults and saw his heavily favoured rivals find the woodwork twice before half-time.

Group E

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3-1 Beijing Guoan
Kawasaki Frontale 4-0 Melbourne Victory

Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa Chunwa recovered from a goal down at home to Chinese Super League outfit Beijing Guoan to eventually win 3-1 victory in the closing stages of the game. Maurice Ross gave Beijing an early lead but the hosts drew level through Song Ho-Young. Seongnam went ahead just three minutes from time through the Montenegro midfielder, Dzenan Radoncic, before Jo Jae-Chol wrapped up the points in injury time.

Kawasaki Frontale thrashed an uninspiring Melbourne Victory 4 – 0. After losses to Seongnam and Beijing, Kawasaki needed victory at home to the Australians and three goals within 20 minutes all but ended the game in the fist half.

Chong Tese, the North Korea international, struck three minutes in and the lead was doubled by Masaru Kurotsu eight minutes later. The former Santos player Renantinho made it three and game over just after the 20 minute mark.

Then on the 90th minute when captain Hiroyuki Taniguchi hit the fourth.

Group F
Changchun Yatai 1-2 Jeonbuk Motors
Kashima Antlers 5-0 Persipura

Lee Dong-gook broke Chinese hearts in the northern city of Changchun on Wednesday with a late winner that gives the South Korean champions a huge boost in their bid to reach the second round.

The hosts started well and controlled the first half. After 65 minutes substitute Du Zhenyu scored to put the hosts ahead. The game wasn’t over however, with 12 minutes remaining, Choi Yae-wook equalized from close range.  Heading for a draw, Lee bagged a priceless winner after good work from Seo Jung-jin.

As expected, the Japanese champions Kashima Antlers, beat group whipping boys Persipura 5-0 at the Kashima Soccer Stadium.

After last round’s 9-0 thrashing in China, the result is an improvement of sorts for the Indonesians. Two goals from Brazil’s Marquinhos and solitary strikes from Toru Araiba, Mitsuo Ogasawara and Yuya Osaka won the game for the J-League titans.

Group G
Singapore Armed Forces 2-4 Gamba Osaka
Henan Construction 0-2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Gamba Osaka were given a stern test against a determined Singapore Armed Forces but managed to win comfortably in the end 4-2. Shoki Hirai gave Osaka the lead within six minutes from the first whistle but Erwan Gunawan got the hosts level just after the half hour. After Hirai re-established a one-goal advantage after half-time, Singapore managed to peg the visitors back again, through the Sweden international Niklas Sandberg. However, Sota Nakazawa made it 3-2 with 19 minutes left on the clock before Hirai completed his treble with seven minutes to play. The result marked Gamba’s first win this year following two draws and they move onto five points. SAFFC stay bottom with just one point.

In the second Group G game, Brazilian Jose Mota scored twice as Suwon Samsung Bluewings overcame China’s Henan. The 30-year-old hit a second half double to put the K-League side back on top of the table. After three matches, Suwon sit on top with a two-point lead. Henan, with two draws and a loss, are only one point off the bottom.

Group H
Pohang Steelers 1-0 Shandong Luneng
Adelaide United 3-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Pohand Steelers squeezed past Shandong with a 1-0 win at the Steelyard. Most of the action came at the beginning and at the end of the match. After just five minutes, Noh Byung-joon smashed a free-kick high into the Chinese net.

Then with five minutes to go, Shandong were awarded a penalty after Kim Jung-kyum brought down Benson in the box. Shin Hwa-yong made a brilliant save to deny Deng Zhouxiang’s penalty and move Pohang clear in second place.

Adelaide United came from behind to defeat Sanfrecce Hiroshima to maintain their three from three perfect record in Group H and keep the Japanese team pointless. Hiroshima bounced back after going down early to a Travis Dodd goal and a red card for defender Ilian Stoyanov to equalize and then take the lead in the second half thanks to Kazuyaki Morisaki and Issei Takayanagi. Adelaide however hit back with two late goals from Robert Cornthwaite and Cassio which won them the game and gave them three points to keep them on top of the group.

Al Gharafa took the lead after just two minutes at Al Gharafa Stadium through Mohammed Al Zaini only for a deflected shot from Brazilian playmaker Marcinho to pull the visitors level on the stroke of half-time.

Abdulrahim Mustafa handed Sergio Farias’s side the lead just after the hour mark, but after substitute Al Shammari equalised, Araújo struck with nine minutes remaining as Al Gharafa maintained their 100% record in Group A while handing Al Ahli a second consecutive defeat.

Al Jazira’s Khalid Sebil crashed a long-range effort against the bar three minutes before the break and Esteghlal’s Fabio Januario did the same from inside the box in first-half stoppage-time as honours ended even with both sides failing to take their chances.

Al Jazira had the first attempt on target after 11 minutes when Subait Khater’s free-kick from 35 yards was punched away by goalkeeper Mohammad Mohammadi.

Moments later, Esteghlal launched a swift counter-attack as Farhad Majidi ran almost the length of the pitch before finding Januario but the Brazilian’s shot deflected wide.

Esteghlal had a great chance to open the scoring five minutes before the break when Siavash Akbarpour’s chipped ball into the box was chested down by Majidi into the path of Kazemi but the midfielder’s fierce strike from 10 yards was straight at Ali Khaseif.

Chances were scarce in the second period but Januario wasted a good opportunity in the 58th minute when, following a neat one-two, he fired over from 10 yards.

Goals from Moroccan Othman Al Assas and Iraq international Younis Mahmoud secured the win for the visitors at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium with Rafael Sobis scoring a consolation for Al Jazira.

Al Jazira coach Abel Braga was disappointed at how easily the UAE side succumbed to defeat.

“When we managed to score our first goal I thought we would come back with more goals, but our play was disappointing,” he said.

“We have been defeated before but not in this manner.

“It is only the first game and we still have our chance.”

Iranians Esteghal also made a winning start in the group following a 2-1 win at Saudis Al Ahli at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium.

Farhad Majidi scored in either half to wrap up the three points before substitute Hassan Al Raheb grabbed a late consolation for the home side.

The result means Sergio Farias, who led South Korean’s Pohang Steelers to the Asian title last year, suffered a continental debut defeat in charge of Al Ahli.

Group A

• AL AHLI (KSA) – have had 4 appearances in the ACL Champions League, reaching the final in 1986, quarter finalists in 2004/05 and participating in the group stage of the 2007/08 championship.
• ESTEGHLAL (IRN) – participating in last years tournament and didn’t progress past the group stage, drawing 4 and losing 2 games. They are the most successful club in Asian Champion’s League with 2 champions titles and 2 runner up tied with Al-Hilal Riadh Saudi Arabia.
• Al Jazira (UAE) – also participated in 2009 finishing 3rd overall in the group stage, with 5 draws and 1 loss.
• Al Gharafa (QAT) – finished 3rd in Group B in 2009 with 1 win and 3 losses. They have also competed in the 2003, 2006, 2008 championships so as a club they have plenty of experience.

Lets quickly look at upcoming games:
AL JAZIRA (UAE) vs AL GHARAFA (QAT)
Expecting Al Gharafa to take out the opening games 2 – 0 even though they are playing their opening game away from home, Al Gharafa have too much experience and should win comfortably.

AL AHLI (KSA) vs ESTEGHLAL (IRN)
Esteghlal should also win comfortably away from home 1 – 0. Esteghlal could be a good chance this year. It looks to be evenly placed within its group.

The Uzbek side maintained their position at the top of Group A thanks to a Zaynitdin Tadjiyev header in the 38th minute and a strike by substitute Alexander Geynrikh 12 minutes into the second half.

“I’m happy with the win and I think that everyone who was at the stadium tonight enjoyed the game,” said Djalilov after Pakhtakor’s fourth win in five games in the competition.

“We have been playing attacking football in our last few matches. Tonight we did the same and you saw the result.”

Pakhtakor are two points clear of the Saudi side and only need a draw to secure first place and a home match in the round of 16.

Al Ahli coach Ivan Hasek had no complaints about the result as his team remained in last place after their fourth loss in five games.

In the other Group A game, Saba Battery coach Firouz Karimi felt that his team’s heavy fixture list finally caught up with them as they bowed out of contention in the Champions League after a 1-0 loss to Al Hilal.

A free-kick by Libyan midfielder Tareq El Taib three minutes before the break secured a 1-0 victory for the Saudi side at Yadegar-e-Emam Stadium, sending Al Hilal through to the knockout stage while denying the Iranian club a place in the last 16.

It was the third straight loss in Group A for Saba Battery, who have been eliminated from the competition after managing only two points from five games.

It was Abdullatif Husain’s first match as coach of Al Hilal since taking over from the sacked Georges Leekens and he was naturally delighted with the result.

Al Hilal will face group leaders Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan in their final Group A game in Riyadh knowing that a win will take them into the last 16 as group winners.

Pakhtakor coach Victor Djalilov was pleased with the battling spirit shown by his players as the Uzbek side came from behind to beat Iran’s Saba Battery 2-1 at Pakhtakor Stadium on Wednesday.

Mohammad Nori put the visitors ahead after five minutes but the hosts got back on level terms through Odil Ahmedov’s controversial penalty before Stanislav Andreev took advantage of poor defending to net the winner just after half-time.

The result maintained Pakhtakor’s unbeaten record in the 2009 AFC Champions League, which kept them at the top of Group A with 10 points from four games and virtually assured them of a spot in the last 16.

“The most important thing for us was to get the win tonight,” said Djalilov.

“We conceded a very poor goal in the early minutes of the match. We tried our best to overcome that and we are happy that we did it.

It was the first home win in the competition for Pakhtakor who were held 1-1 by Al Hilal in their previous match in Tashkent.

But although the Uzbek side have been successful in both of their away matches, Djalilov would still prefer to see his team secure first place in the group and a home match for the round of 16.

Saba Battery coach Firouz Karimi admitted that his team were outplayed by a better side as they saw their hopes of advancement suffer a huge blow after their second straight loss to Pakhtakor.

“It was very interesting match. The players did their best, both technically and tactically, but Pakhtakor proved that they had studied us very carefully and they managed to beat us once again,” he said.

With only two points from four games, the Iranian side will need plenty of help to reach the knockout stage.

But Karimi insisted that his side had not thrown in the towel yet.

“Before entering the tournament we thought that we contend to win the group but right now we have almost no chance to even finish second.

Al Hilal coach Georges Leekens lauded his players after the Saudi side all but secured their place in the last 16 of the ACL with a 3-1 win over Al Ahli of the UAE at Al Rashid Stadium on Wednesday. The under-strength home side took a surprise lead in the third minute when Mahmood Qassim lobbed the ball home from near the halfway line after a poor clearance by goalkeeper Mohammad Al Deayea but the visitors hit back in the 21st minute through Tareq El Taib.

Mirel Radoi scored from the spot early in the second-half and Yasser Al Qahtani, who was later sent off, wrapped up the win with a fine strike in the 64th minute.

The result sent Group A leaders Pakhtakor through to the knockout stage and virtually sealed Al Hilal’s passage as well as the Riyadh club moved six points ahead of Saba Battery with two games left to play.

“The win today showed our good character as we were not affected by the early goal that we conceded,” said Leekens.

“The most important thing tonight was that we got the three points regardless of the chances that we missed. We knew that Al Ahli were missing some players but I warned my players not to underestimate them.

“Our chances in the competition are really good as we are now in a good position to qualify for the next round. However, our aim is not only to qualify but to fight for the title.”

Al Ahli’s chances of advancement were slim after managing only one point from their first three games and coach Ivan Hasek opted to preserve his players by fielding a weakened squad.

“We were missing some key players due to injuries and I was not ready to gamble and play with other players who have slight injuries.

“To be honest, our main focus now is on our local league. Despite having a bit of a chance in the AFC Champions League, it would have been totally wrong to play with a full squad with players who have slight injuries like Faisal Khalil for example.

“The result could have been different if we played with a strong squad but our attention is now on the local league.”