The first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-finals kicked off today, starting with East Asia's Ulsan Hyundai hosts Yokohama Marino. In the end, with Lee Dong-kyung's goal, Ulsan Hyundai defeated the Yokohama Mariners 1:0, taking the lead in promotion, and the next round of the game away to Yokohama, only need a 0:0, can enter the AFC Champions League final for the third time, it is worth mentioning that the first two finals, Ulsan Hyundai won all the championships, if you enter the finals again this year, the opponent is likely to be Riyadh Crescent, I don't know if you can continue to enter the final to win the championship.
Ulsan Hyundai won the AFC Champions League twice in the 2012 and 2020 seasons, and in the knockout stage of this season, they eliminated Kofu Fenglin 5:1 and Jeonbuk Hyundai 2:1 in two legs to reach the semifinals, while Yokohama Mariners have not won the AFC Champions League championship, they eliminated Bangkok United 3:2 in two legs and Shandong Taishan 3:1 in the knockout stage to enter the semifinals.
Ulsan Hyundai is currently ranked third with 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in 7 rounds of matches in the K-League, and the team has been in hot form in the last two games, winning 3-0 at home against Suwon and 4-0 at home, and this game has hit three consecutive home wins. Yokohama Mariners are in fifth place with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in 8 rounds of matches in the J-League.
Ulsan modern Yokohama sailor
In the first half of the game, Ryo Miyaichi cut inside and shot from a distance, the ball was saved by Cho Hyun-woo after the ball was refracted and then Ulsan Hyundai crossed from the left, and Yan Yuanxiang did not adjust the pace point with a single knife ball from close range and was cleared by Pope.
In the 18th minute, Ulsan Hyundai started attacking on the left side, Zhou Mingui turned his back to protect the ball in the penalty area, Lee Dong-hyung met the ball and volleyed the goal, Ulsan Hyundai 1:0, took the lead in breaking the deadlock on the field.
Young-Mateus used his personal ability, swaying back and forth, shaking out of the long-range shooting space, and a long-range shot was saved by Zhao Xianyou, and the shooting was beautiful, and Zhao Xianyou was still very stable. In the first half, Yokohama Mariner dominated the field, shooting far more than Ulsan Hyundai, but unfortunately failed to find the opponent's goal.
In the second half of the game, Ulsan Hyundai created scoring opportunities one after another, first Zhou Mingui shot outside the penalty area, the ball was saved by Pope, and then Zhou Mingui shook off the defensive volley in the penalty area and popped up at the neutral post, Lee Dong-kyung slashed to the far corner, Pope hit the post after the save and popped up, two consecutive goalposts, Ulsan Hyundai was unlucky. Then Zhou Mingui scored a goal, but it was offside and the goal was blown away.
At the end of the game, Ulsan Hyundai had 41% possession, 6 shots on goal, 3 on target, hit the post twice, and Yokohama Mariner had 18 shots on goal and 5 on target, but the absolute chance of scoring was not as good as Ulsan Hyundai.