On May 11, Beijing time, in the first leg of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League final, the Japanese team Yokohama Mariner faced the UAE team Al Ain. In the first half, Abbas completed a blitzkrieg for Ain, and Issa made many divine saves to protect the goal; In the second half, Asahi Uechu equalized for the Yokohama Marinos, and Kota Watanabe scored a stunner in the 86th minute, and the Yokohama Marinos won 2-1, and the second leg was moved to the home stadium of Al Ain on May 25.
The road to qualification for Yokohama Mariners has not been smooth, with current coach Colwill and Ain boss Crespo meeting in the Champions League final 19 years ago.
In the 8th minute, Elber made a ball at the edge of the penalty area, and the long-range shot inserted by Asahi Uechu was too positive and was confiscated by Isa.
In the 12th minute, Rahimi forced his way off the left and slashed into the box, but Abbas cut in from near the penalty spot to give Al Ain a 1-0 lead on the road.
In the 25th minute, Lopes got away from the defense at the edge of the penalty area and the final long-range shot was slightly off target.
In the 26th minute, Asahi Uechu shot from a distance when the front of the penalty area was unguarded, and Aisa made a flying save to block the ball from the bottom line.
In the 30th minute, Ain sent a through ball, Palacios took the ball into the penalty area, and the volley from a small angle caused Pope Butter to slip into the net, but VAR intervened, Palacios was offside in the first goal offside, and Yokohama Mariners escaped.
In the 34th minute, Takuya Kita's angry shot in the penalty area once again allowed Ain goalkeeper Issa to make a miraculous save and save the team.
In stoppage time of the first half, Mateus returned the ball, and Nam Tae-hee actually pushed and kicked wide in the face of an empty goal, and the first half ended, and Yokohama Mariner fell behind 0-1.
In the 52nd minute, Alba had another good chance, but he struck into the box and was destroyed by Yokohama's defenders.
In the 64th minute, Ryo Miyaichi curled a cross from the left, but Yokohama did not outflank the attacker, and the Al Ain defender took the first step to clear the ball.
In the 72nd minute, Mateus broke through on the right and crossed, Asahi Uechu scored with a header from close range, and Yokohama Mariners equalized the score, 1-1.
In the 84th minute, Mateus crossed from the right, Ryo Miyaichi's volley failed to kick on target, and Kota Watanabe scored from close range in front of the goal, and Yokohama Mariner achieved a 2-1 overtake.
After the drop in fitness, Ain then fought back without attack, and in the end, Yokohama Mariner won 2-1 in the first leg.
Yokohama Mariners lineup: 42-William Pope; 27-Ken Matsubara, 2-Katsuya Nagado, 4-Shinnosuke Machinaka, 5-Eduardo (37 mins 39-Watanabe Oki), 14-Asahi Uechu (76 mins 28-Riku Yamane), 8-Takuya Kita (60 mins 6-Kota Watanabe), 29-Minami Taihee (76 mins 35-Keigo Sakakihara), 20-Jan Mateus, 11-Anderson López, 7-Elber (60 mins 23-Ryo Miyaichi)
Al Ain line-up: 17-Khaled Isa; 11-Achbabi, 16-Hashmi, 3-Kuame, 6-Nadder, 8-Abbas, 5-Park Yong-woo, 20-Matthias Palacios, 21-Rahimi, 70-Abdul Karim Traore, 10-Kaku