In the second leg of the AFC Champions League 1/4 finals, Shandong Luneng lost to Yokohama Mariners and missed the semi-finals in the situation of playing one more person for a long time. Now, Luneng's gold content in reaching the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League this season is further improving. Because in the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinals, the South Korean powerhouse Ulsan team was still overturned by the Yokohama Mariners after 80 minutes of playing with one more player and missed the AFC Champions League final, so Luneng is not sorry to lose to such an opponent, and the Yokohama Mariners this season are indeed a respectable opponent.
At 18 o'clock on April 24, Beijing time, the second leg of the semifinals of the 23/24 AFC Champions League will be contested, and Yokohama Mariner will play Ulsan Hyundai at home. In the first leg of the competition, the Yokohama Mariner lost 0-1 away to Ulsan, and this time back at home, the Yokohama Mariner showed the momentum of the reversal at the beginning.
Just 13 minutes into the game, Yokohama Mariner crossed from the right, Ulsan made a mistake in the backline, and Asahi Uechu seized the opportunity to push the far corner from a small angle to score, and Yokohama led 1-0 and tied the aggregate score at 1-1. In the 21st minute, Yokohama foreign aid Mateus crossed in front of the penalty area, and Lopes scored with a low shot after winning the ball, and Yokohama led 2-0 and reversed the overall score 2-1. In the 30th minute, South Korean star Nam Tae-hee sent an assist, and Asahil Uechu turned around and shot a world wave, and Yokohama led 3-0.
With three goals in a row in just 30 minutes, Yokohama Mariner got off to a dream start. In the 35th minute, Matthews scored with a header to help Ulsan pull a goal back. In the 38th minute, Takumi Uejima handball in the penalty area, the referee awarded a penalty and sent off a red card, Bohani hit the shot, the score became 3-2, and the overall score was 3-3, but Yokohama will face one less player for the rest of the time.
Since then, the two sides have been in a stalemate, and it has been played until extra time. However, even if Yokohama played 80 minutes without one man, they did not fall behind on the field and dragged the game into a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, former Chengdu Rongcheng foreign player Jin Yuyou missed a penalty, and Yokohama hit all the penalties. In the end, the Yokohama team reversed Weishan 3-2 and drew 3-3 on aggregate, won 5-4 on penalties and eliminated Ulsan 8-7 to advance to the final.
Judging from the whole game, the Yokohama Marinos were skillful and fast-paced on the ground, so they were able to take a 3-0 lead in the first half. After being sent off and the aggregate score was equalised, the Yokohama Mariners were able to hold on to Ulsan, showing the resilience of the team. Therefore, it is reasonable that Shandong Luneng is at a disadvantage in the face of Yokohama Mariners this season. It's not that Luneng isn't strong enough, but Yokohama is more experienced.
In fact, in the case of the defending champion of the Chinese Super League stopping the qualifying round, Zhejiang and Wuhan both out of the group, Luneng was able to reach the quarterfinals in the end, only to be eliminated by Yokohama, which finally reached the final, which is already a great surprise for the Chinese Super League team this season.
You must know that in the other semi-final, the Saudi giants Riyadh Crescent, who have won 34 consecutive victories in all competitions this season, lost to Al Ain 4-5 on aggregate and missed the final. So far, the four Saudi Arabian teams, which are far ahead of other Asian clubs in value, have all been eliminated. (Xiong Yixuan)