On May 1, Beijing time, the AFC Champions League group stage was all over, the top 8 in East Asia were released, in addition to the Japanese and South Korean teams are still stable, this AFC Champions League knockout match ushered in Southeast Asian and even Hong Kong Super League teams!
We look at the final group stage results, Group F Daegu (Korea) 1st promotion, Urawa (Japan) 2nd promotion, Group G Baton United (Thailand) 1st promotion, Group H Yokohama (Japan) 1st promotion, Jeonbuk Hyundai (Korea) 2nd promotion, Group I Johor (Malaysia) 1st promotion, Group J Kobe (Japan) 1st promotion, Jiezhi (Hong Kong Super League) 2nd promotion.
Quarter-final matchup
Daegu vs Jeonbuk Hyundai
Baton United vs Jai Chi
Johor vs Urawa Red Diamonds
Kobe Victory Ship vs Yokohama Mariners
This AFC Champions League should be said to be the great shuffle of Asian football. First of all, the Chinese Super League has completely declined. Many people say that the Chinese Super League sends a second-team team. However, it is now completely impossible to see when the Chinese Super League will send a full main lineup to play, and after the farewell of the big-name foreign teachers, the competitiveness of the Chinese Super League in the AFC Champions League has declined sharply, that is, in the past 2 seasons, there has been no real knife and real gun PK with other teams, if the real main PK, the result may make Chinese football very disappointed. Because the Chinese Super League points are too small, the qualifications for participating in the AFC Champions League are hanging in the future, so the presence of the Chinese Super League in the AFC Champions League has been very weak.
Secondly, we have seen southeast Asian "weak teams" begin to challenge Japanese and Korean teams, before, the main opponents of Japan and South Korea in the AFC Champions League are the Chinese Super League and the Australian League, this season, Japan and South Korea are still competing with each other, and the main opponents have become Southeast Asian teams. South Korea's Baton United and Malaysia's Johor have both qualified, and the Malaysian team has created new history.
Finally, we must praise the Hong Kong Super League team Jie Zhi, this team created the history of the Hong Kong Super League, after the final round of 2-2 draw with Kobe Victory Ship, helped the Hong Kong Super League team to qualify for the first time in the AFC Champions League knockout round, Jie Zhi is the biggest dark horse in the AFC Champions League this season, once a points boy, and now with Southeast Asian teams, replacing the Chinese Super League to create pressure on Japan and South Korea.