Preface
Before the article begins, let's first give fans and friends the rules of the AFC Champions League group stage in the 23-24 season.
There are 10 groups in the group stage of this AFC Champions League, five groups in East Asia and five groups in West Asia. The first team in each group can go straight to the knockout round, and then the three best teams in each half can also advance, that is, a total of 16 teams will advance.
6 teams stood out
After the fifth round of the AFC Champions League group stage, the teams that have already qualified for the knockout stage are Al Ain of Group A of West Asia with 4 wins and 1 loss with 12 points, Etihad from Group C with 4 wins and 1 loss with 12 points, and Riyadh Victory in Group E with 13 points with 4 wins and 1 draw. Bangkok United in Group F of the East Asia Zone have 13 points from 4 wins and 1 draw, Kawasaki Frontale from Group I has 15 points from 5 wins, and Pohang Steelers FC from Group J has 15 points from 5 wins. All of the above teams have an absolute advantage in the number of points, and even if they lose in the final round, they can advance.
The Super League champions are out
The fate of the three Super League teams is different. Last season's Chinese Super League champion Wuhan Three Towns has been out of the tournament early, and as of the fifth round, the results are 1 win, 1 draw, 3 losses and 4 points, ranking second to last in the Group J standings. Although Wuhan Three Towns is out, it doesn't mean that they are not performing well. One is that the lottery is not good, and the group of true deaths drawn. The second is the unfairness of the referee, which is obvious to everyone from several games. Third, even if the referee was unfair, the three towns were reversed at the last moment in several games, and their luck was not good.
Zhejiang's fate hangs by a thread, and their record is 2 wins and 3 losses, accumulating 6 points, ranking fourth in the Group H standings. In the same group is Buriram United with 6 points, followed by Kofu Wind Forest with 8 points, and Melbourne City with 8 points. Judging from the results, if the Zhejiang team can beat Melbourne City in the last round, and the results of the other group of duels are also favorable, there is still a chance to resurrect with full blood.
Shandong Taishan is the most promising, as of the fifth round, they are at the top of the Group G standings with 4 wins and 1 loss with 12 points, the second and third in the same group are Incheon United and Yokohama Mariners with 9 points, and the fourth is Kaya FC with 0 points. Therefore, as long as Shandong Taishan draws or wins in the last round, it can advance as the first. If you lose, as long as you don't lose miserably, you can also qualify as the second place in the group with the best result.
The last AFC Champions League champion Urawa Red Diamonds were also miserable, after the fifth round, they were 8 points behind the group leader, with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to advance. Dear fans and friends, what do you think about this? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss!