The AFC Champions League group stage continues, with my Chinese Super League side Wuhan Three Towns hosting Japanese J-League powerhouse Urawa Red Diamonds at home to draw 2-2. Despite not winning the game, it was not easy to secure a point from the defending champions, and while unsatisfactory, it was understandable. The three teams of the Chinese Super League also encountered some difficulties in the first round, achieving 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss.
This match really shows the battle between the Chinese Super League and the J-League! Although the strength of Wuhan Three Towns is not as good as that of their opponents, our Chinese Super League team is definitely not afraid of Japanese teams. At the same time, this match is also the debut of Wuhan Three Towns in the AFC Champions League, and the whole team is nervous, hoping to win at home against Japan. This season, three teams from the Chinese Super League have competed in the AFC Champions League group stage, with Shandong Taishan winning 3-1 away and Zhejiang losing 4-1 to Thailand's Buriram United. It can be said that the match in the three towns of Wuhan carries the expectations of domestic fans.
The three towns of Wuhan showed excellent performances at the beginning of the competition. In the 10th minute, our players showed tacit cooperation, Zhang Xiaobin decisively shot in the box and scored with a low flat goal, directly defeating the goalkeeper of the Urawa Red Diamonds, a goal that will be remembered forever for Wuhan Three Towns Club in the AFC Champions League group stage.
However, the Urawa Red Diamond did not sit down. They took advantage of their tacit cooperation to find an opportunity on the right flank and scored with a header from Linsen in the 54th minute to make it 1-1 and the two sides were back on the same line. Despite the demoralization of the Wuhan Three Towns home stadium, our players were quick to respond. In the 58th minute of the game, our team launched an attack, Davidson was violated in the box, the referee awarded a penalty according to the VAR prompt, Davidson himself took the penalty, 2-1, the reigning champion of the Chinese Super League once again leaded. Although the Japanese goalkeeper guessed the right direction, he was unable to save the ball. The head coach of the Urawa Red Diamonds looked disappointed on the sidelines, which is indeed a regrettable result.
With a 2-1 lead, the Wuhan Three Towns shifted their focus to defense. Urawa Red Diamonds mastered more possession and began to lay siege to us. However, the Japanese team's offensive style is varied, but it is difficult to really break through our defense. However, we lost the ball in stoppage time. In the 94th minute, former Chinese Super League player Jose Kante scored a goal to help Urawa Red Diamonds equalize 2-2. This result is indeed somewhat embarrassing.