At 15:00 Beijing time on February 23, in order to make time for the AFC Champions League group stage in April, Kobe Victory played the 9th round of the game with Urawa Red Diamonds in advance. The 37-year-old Iniesta delivered a stunning assist to help Kobe Victory ship draw 2-2 with Urawa Red Diamonds to score his first point of the season.
The J-League kicked off last week, but Kobe Victory and Urawa Red Diamonds both suffered a black start in the first round, losing 2-0 to Nagoya Whale Hachi and 0-1 to Kyoto Undead Birds respectively.
Urawa Red Diamonds finished only 6th in the J-League last season, but they qualified directly for the AFC Champions League as Emperor Cup champions. The Kobe Victory Ship, which ranks 3rd in the J League, can only participate in the play-offs. Urawa Red Diamonds are in the same group as Taishan in Shandong, while the Kobe Victory Ship will be in the same group as Shanghai Harbor if it can eliminate Melbourne Victory. Kobe Victory Ship met Shanghai Harbor in the 2020 AFC Champions League Quarterfinals, when Kobe Victory Ship easily advanced 2-0.
In a 2-2 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds by Kobe Victory Boats, after Muto Yoshiki scored first, Kobe Victory Ship conceded two goals in seven minutes, leading from 1-0 to 1-2 in an instant.
It wasn't until the 87th minute that the 37-year-old Iniesta sent a brilliant cross from the left side of the penalty area, and 34-year-old centre-back Tomoaki Makino completed a header from close range to make it 2-2. 19,446 fans witnessed Iniesta's world-class passing, as well as Tomoaki Makino's return to Saitama 2002 to kill his old owner.
Tomoaki Makino, who scored a great goal for the Kobe Victory Ship, is a meritorious player of urawa Red Diamonds. He spent 9 years at Urawa Red Diamonds, and it wasn't until this year's winter window that he joined the Kobe Victory Ship as a free agent.