Al Hilal v Piroozi (1 – 1)
Saudi champions Al Hilal were able to pick up a point after having Osama Hawsawi sent off against Iranian Cup champions Piroozi in their AFC Champions League Group D game.
With a few minutes left before half time, Al Hilal found themselves a man and a goal down to Piroozi. Hawsawi was dismissed for handling the ball on the goalline and Ali Karimi stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.
But a brilliant free-kick by Mohammed Al Shalhoub early in the second half, settled the game.
Group …

Sepahan v Al Nasr (1 – 0)
Al Nasr, who qualified for their first ACL appearance started brightly but faded as the game progressed. It took until the 86th minute for Correa to finally break the deadlock.
Italian striker Luca Toni had the best chance of the game in the first half for Al Nasr, but the World Cup winner was starved of service in the second period, although a heroic goalkeeping performance from Abdulla Moosa almost earned Walter Zenga’s visitors a point from the Group C opener.
With Al Nasr enjoying an …

Jeonbuk Motors  v  Guangzhou Evergrande (1-5)
Guangzhou Evergrande emphatically signaled their AFC Champions League intentions by  stunning last year’s runners-up Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Although the start was relatively even, Guangzhou gradually began to assert their authority on the game as the half progressed and the visitors took the lead after 27 minutes through Cleo.
With Jeonbuk conceding possession to Gao Lin on the edge of their own penalty area, the China international exchanged a series of intricate passes with Cleo before the Brazilian striker guided a composed strike past Kim Min-sik.
The home side …

Nagoya Grampus v Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (2 – 2)
A spectacular overhead kick with the last touch of the game saw Brazilian striker Hevertinho rescue a point for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma with a 2-2 draw against Nagoya Grampus in Group G on Wednesday.
Hevertinho (Héverton Durães Coutinho Alves) had given the 2010 ACL champions the lead just two minutes after half-time when he raced onto a long clearance from goalkeeper Ha Kang-jin before thumping the ball high into Seigo Narazaki’s net.
But Grampus pulled level when Josh Kennedy scored from the penalty spot …

Al Rayyan V Esteghlal (0 – 1)
Substitute Goran Jerkovic scored in stoppage time as Iranian giants Esteghlal followed up their back-to-back play-offs wins with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Qatar’s Al Rayyan at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
With 80 minutes already played and no goals scored, the match appeared to be headed for a goalless draw. However a wonder substitution, bringing French striker Jerkovic on for Milad Midavoodi changed the game and the scoreline almost instantly. The game ended 0 – 1, giving …

Gamba Osaka V Pohang Steelers (0 – 3)
Jose Carlos Serrao’s opening match as head coach of Gamba Osaka could not have started in worse fashion with the Gamba suffering a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Korea’s Pohang Steelers.
Pohang took the lead in the 19th minute when Shin Kwang-hoon sent in a superb cross on the run from the right hand side of the pitch connecting with Kim Tae-su ho headed home the opening goal.
A few minutes later, Gamba keeper Yosuke Fujigaya gifted Pohang a second goal. Fujigaya attempted to …

Baniyas v Al Arabi (2 – 0)
A first-half penalty from captain Yousef Jaber and a composed second half finish from Spanish midfielder Francisco Yeste secured AFC Champions League debutants Baniyas a memorable 2-0 win over Qatar’s Al Arabi in Group B on Tuesday.
Both sides enjoyed an even share of possession in the first half. Senegalese striker Andre Senghor, who was the top scorer in the UAE Pro League last season with 18 goals, saw his close range effort cleared off the line on the half-hour mark.
That chance brought the game …

On paper the all-conquering A-League champion lined up against a side that had only recently earned promotion to Japan’s top league.

The Japanese outfit had only arrived in Brisbane on Monday morning minus captain Yohei Kajiyama and Brazilian spearhead Lucas after they were injured in last weekend’s 2-1 Japanese Super Cup loss to Kashiwa Reysol.

Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Arema Indonesia
Cerezo Osaka celebrated their AFC Champions League debut by beating Arema Indonesia 2-1 in their Group G opener at Nagai Stadium in Osaka on Wednesday.
Rodrigo Pimpao, who is on loan from Rio giants Vasco de Gama, scored both goals, with the Brazilian striker grabbing the opener early in the first half before netting the winner in the 76th minute after Singapore international Noh Alam Shah had equalised from the penalty spot.
Cerezo, who qualified for their first-ever ACL by coming …

Al Wahda 1-1 Bunyodkor
Two late goals lit up the Group C match between UAE Pro League champions Al Wahda and Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor as their AFC Champions League encounter ended in a 1-1 draw.
With the game seemingly heading to a goalless conclusion, Bunyodkor substitute Murzoev Kamoliddin – on the pitch for just two minutes – set up Azizbek Haydarov to give the visitors an 84th minute lead that looked to have snatched the points.
However Hugo (Hugo Henrique Assis do Nascimento), a 63rd minute substitute …

Al Rayyan 1-1 Al Shabab
Al Shabab came from a goal down to hold Al Rayyan at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium as Nasser Al Shamrani’s second-half header clinched a 1-1 draw.
Last year’s AFC Champions League semi-finalists fell behind in the 33rd minute when Brazilian striker Itamar converted from the spot,
But Al Shamrani pounced just before the hour mark to ensure a share of the spoils for the Saudis.
In a Group D clash played in chilly conditions, both teams wasted little time in seeking the early momentum.
In the fifth …

Sydney FC (0 – 0) Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Ten-man Sydney FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings played out a hard-fought scoreless draw in their opening AFC Champions League Group H match at the Sydney Football Stadium on Wednesday.
The home side were forced to play a man short for nearly an hour in a sometimes tempestuous contest after skipper Terry McFlynn was dismissed for stamping on Lee Sang-ho.
Suwon fielded their quartet of new signings in defender Hwang Jae-won, midfielder Lee Yong-rae, striker Yeom Ki-hoon as well as …

Sepahan 2 – 1 Al Hilal
Sepahan stunned Saudi giants Al Hilal on Tuesday as the Iranians claimed a 2-1 victory in their opening AFC Champions League encounter at King Fahd International Stadium.
After a goalless first half it was the visitors who went ahead when Ibrahima Toure headed home in 51st minute before Sepahan added a second just nine minutes later when Al Hilal keeper Abdullah Alsdairy managed to turn Fabio Januario’s corner into his own net.
It seemed Sepahan were coasting to victory but Christian …

Al Nassr (2-2) Pakhtakor
Al Nassr twice came from behind to earn their first point of the AFC Champions League with a 2-2 draw with Pakhtakor.
Sherzod Karimov opened the scoring for the hosts seconds before the break but Bader Al Motawaa equalised five minutes into the second half.
Dilshod Sharofetdinov put Pakhtakor ahead once again on the hour but Bojan Miladinovic ensured Al Nassr would leave Uzbekistan with their first point in Group B when he put the ball into his own net when attempting to cut out Mohammad Al Sahlawi’s cross.
Al …

Hangzhou Greentown (2-0) Nagoya Grampus
Substitute Ba Li gave Hangzhou Greentown a dream start to their AFC Champions League debut as he scored one and set up another to help the Chinese side stun Japanese champions Nagoya Grampus 2-0 in their Group F opener.
Ba provided the assist for Luis Ramirez just after being brought onto the pitch just after the hour mark before scoring his side’s second five minutes before time when Hangzhou looked desperate to protect their slender lead.
The ACL debutants’ outplayed and outsmarted the visitors, particularly in the …

Tianjin Teda 1-0 Jeju United
A second half strike by Yu Dabao’s was the clincher in a very tight contest between Tianjin Teda and Jeju United.
Jeju United from Korea Republic made their debut appearance and looked to dominate the game but were caught out by a classic counter-attack on the 55 minute mark by Tianjin Teda.
Jeju came close to the opener in the 16th minute when a chipped ball over the defence found Kim Eun-jung unmarked in the penalty box. Eun-jung volleyed the ball over with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Teda’s …

FT – AL ITTIHAD (KSA) v PIROOZI ATHLETIC (IRN) (3 – 1)
FT – SYDNEY FC (AUS) v SUWON SAMSUNG BLUEWINGS (KOR) (0 – 0)
FT – CEREZO OSAKA (JPN) v AREMA INDONESIA (IDN) (2- 1)
FT – JEONBUK HYUNDAI MOTORS (KOR) v SHANDONG LUNENG FC (CHN) (1 -0)
FT – SHANGHAI SHENHUA (CHN) v KASHIMA ANTLERS (JPN) (0 – 0)
FT – AL WAHDA (UAE) v BUNYODKOR (UZB) (1 – 1)
FT – AL RAYYAN (QAT) v AL SHABAB (KSA) (1 – 1)
FT – ZOBAHAN (IRN) v EMIRATES (UAE) (2 – 1)
FT – AL AIN …

Winners of the 2010 J League, this is likely Japan’s best hope for 2011 ACL Champions League. Coming off the winter off season all of the J League teams will be slightly rusty but the professionalism of the J League will ensure that each team will be ready for a new domestic and ACL season. Given a J league team hasn’t won the tournament for a few years, pressure will be on to at least have a J League team into the final for 2011.

A favourite as always to progress into the knockout stages of the tournament. Gamba are a regular in the ACL Champions League. 2011 Division 1 season is yet to start (due 5/3) and so teams will have been in preseason and playing practice games coming into the group stages of the ACL Champions League. Match fitness might be an issue for some of the players. Gamba had a very successful 2010, achieving 2nd position. In 2010 ACL they were knockout by eventual winners Seongnam in the first knockout round. This is however a very tough group but you would expect Gamba to be a serious contender for 1st place n Group E.

Sitting 3rd at the moment in the Zain Saudi Professional League with 9 wins, 4 draws and 3 loses, Al Shabab are having a good 2010/11 season. Last year Al Shabab topped Group C in the AFC Champions League with 3 wins and where knocked out in the Quarter Finals 1 – 0 by Jeonbuk. Al Shabab will be a favourite with Group D this year and their strong domestic season will give them the confidence to make it through the groups stage.