At 18:00 Beijing time on the evening of April 24, 2024, the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinals will be contested, and the Yokohama Mariners from Japan will return to their home stadium to face South Korea's K-League champion Ulsan Hyundai. Who's going to be killed in this game? I'm going to give you some brief analysis of this game.
Yokohama Mariners are a team that Chinese fans are familiar with, as they have played Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan four times in the group stage and knockout stage of the AFC Champions League. In these four encounters, Shandong Taishan lost all to their opponents, so Chinese fans naturally have no good impression of Yokohama Mariner. After the first eight rounds of the domestic league, Yokohama Mariners have won 4, drawn 2 and lost 2 and are in 7th place in the league, while Muscat, who led the team to the league last season, went to Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League to coach the team's backline. Yokohama Mariners, who are hand-waved and one-goal trailing, are still looking to make a comeback at home.
Ulsan Hyundai, which is playing away, has replaced Jeonbuk Hyundai as the new hegemon of South Korea's K-League in the past two seasons. In the new domestic league season, Ulsan Hyundai is currently three points behind the top-ranked Pohang Steelers in third place with one less round of games. What's more, Ulsan Hyundai FC has won four consecutive matches in the league and AFC Champions League, and in these four games, Ulsan Hyundai has been able to keep a clean sheet and be amazingly efficient at both ends of the pitch. And with a one-goal lead in the first leg, Ulsan Hyundai itself took the initiative to advance.
The two teams have met 6 times in the AFC Champions League, with a record of 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.