On December 28th, the draw for the AFC Champions League knockout round revealed the biggest unfairness, that is, there is a group leader in East Asia and West Asia, and the team that has to be reduced to the second pot depends on the draw, and in the first round of the knockout round, it will go to PK the first place in other groups.
This also made the expansion of the AFC Champions League a joke, and the group won by others with hard work, in the end, it all depends on the luck of the draw.
The AFC Champions League has been expanded, with 40 teams, the group stage is divided into 10 groups, and the group stage is still divided into East Asia and West Asia, with 5 groups in each region topping, and the best results in each 3 groups are second, a total of 16 teams have advanced to the knockout round.
As a result, when the knockout draw was made, the unfairness came out, the first team in the group was the first team, and the second team in the group was the second team. However, in the East Asia and West Asia regions, there are 5 groups first, 3 groups second, and the number of first and second gears is not equal.
So the strange operation is carried out, and one team from the first team in the group is drawn and put into the second pot, so that the number of teams in the first and second pots is the same.
In other words, others have worked hard to pass 6 group games and win the first place in the group, and when they reach the first round of the knockout round, they need to completely depend on luck to "become second in the group".
In the end, the two "unlucky" teams, West Asia who were the first team in Group B from Uzbekistan, Nasaf, became the second pot, and they faced UAE side Al Ain in the first round of the knockout round.
In the East Asian zone, Thailand's Bangkok United topped Group F, beating South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai to top the group in Group F. As a result, it became a second-tier team.
In the first round of the knockout round, Bangkok United drew the first Yokohama Mariners in Group G.