On the evening of April 24, Beijing time, a key match in the semifinals of the AFC Champions League was played by Yokohama Mariners at home against Ulsan HD. The two teams fought hard for 120 minutes to draw 3-3, and in the final penalty shootout, Yokohama Mariner won 5-4 and eliminated Ulsan HD with an aggregate score of 8-7, advancing to the final for the first time in team history, and will compete with Al Ain for the final championship.
Since the AFC continues to implement the East and West Asian division, both Ulsan HD and Yokohama Mariner have been able to avoid the West Asian giants, and now the two teams are competing for the East Asian championship, which is a final qualification.
Entering the knockout stage, Ulsan HD has eliminated Kofu Wind Forest and Jeonbuk Hyundai, and Yokohama Mariner has eliminated Bangkok United and Shandong Taishan. Compared with Ulsan HD, which is a frequent visitor to the semifinals of the AFC Champions League, Yokohama Mariners is the first time to do it, creating the best record in team history.
In the first leg, Yokohama Mariner lost 0-1, and now they must win to face Ulsan HD at home to have any hope of turning the tables. In the first 30 minutes of the opening period, the Yokohama Mariner attacked like a tide, easily beating the back line of Ulsan HD.
In the 13th minute, Asahi Uechu burst into the penalty area and scored from a small angle, and Yokohama Mariner led 1-0. In the 21st minute, Anderson Lopes turned and swept into the net in the penalty area, and Yokohama Mariner scored 2-0. In the 29th minute, Asahi Uechu turned around and scored a burst shot, and Yokohama Mariner expanded the score 3-0.
In this way, the Yokohama Mariners overtook the aggregate score of 3-2 and threw the pressure on Ulsan HD, who also completed the explosion in the face of a desperate situation.
In the 35th minute, Ulsan HD took a corner kick, and Matthews shook his head to hit the goal. In the 38th minute, Yokohama Mariner sent a penalty, Bohanic scored a penalty, and Ulsan HD scored two goals in less than 5 minutes to tie the overall score at 3-3.
Soon after the start of the second half, both teams scored a goal, which was invalidated due to offside, and the score was not rewritten at the end of the 90 minutes, and the game went into extra time, still without a winner.
In the final penalty shootout, the Yokohama Mariner defeated Ulsan HD 5-4 and advanced with an aggregate score of 8-7, and the fans at the scene fell into a boil.
This is the first time in the history of the Yokohama Mariners that they have reached the AFC Champions League final, a record high, and there is hope that they will compete for the first title in the team's history.
The other semi-final, featuring Riyadh Crescent against Al Ain, was a matchup between the champions.
In the first leg, Riyadh Crescent lost 2-4, and returned to the home court 2-1 in the second leg to take revenge, but the aggregate score was 5-6 and was still eliminated by Al Ain, and he missed the finals for 3 consecutive seasons, and Al Ain returned to the AFC Champions League final after 8 years.