Vissel Kobe took management of their Asian Champions League final 16 conflict with Gwangju on Wednesday however Japanese compatriots Kawasaki Frontale fell to a first-leg defeat to Shanghai Shenhua.
Yuya Osako and Haruya Ide scored first-half headers as Japanese champions Kobe received 2-0 at dwelling to South Korean event debutants Gwangju.
Kawasaki made it a blended evening for Japanese golf equipment when a late personal purpose from Kota Takai handed Shanghai a 1-0 win in China.
Kobe, who’re chasing a trophy treble after final season’s home league and cup double, loved a cushty evening forward of subsequent week’s second leg in South Korea.
The winners of the final 16 video games undergo to the ultimate event of the revamped AFC Champions League Elite in Saudi Arabia.
“We have been enjoying a run of video games with a small group of gamers so relaxation and restoration is crucial factor now,” mentioned Kobe supervisor Takayuki Yoshida.
“We’re away within the subsequent recreation and so they’re the kind of workforce that may play in numerous alternative ways, so we wish to be ready for any scenario, like we had been right this moment.”
Shanghai and Kawasaki have all of it to play for after the Chinese language aspect edged an in depth first leg.
Kawasaki had the ball within the internet within the first half via Yasuto Wakizaka however the purpose was disallowed for offside after a VAR evaluate.
Shanghai spurned two good possibilities within the second half earlier than they took the lead when Takai turned Portuguese defender Wilson Manafa’s shot into his personal internet.
Kobe went into their recreation lacking a number of key males together with final season’s J. League participant of the 12 months Yoshinori Muto.
Osako didn’t assist their trigger when he picked up a useless early reserving for an off-the-ball shove on a Gwangju participant.
However the former Japan striker opened the scoring halfway via the primary half, heading dwelling the rebound after Ide had crashed the ball in opposition to the crossbar.
The roles had been reversed lower than 10 minutes later when Osako teed up Ide to nod dwelling Kobe’s second purpose.
“If we do the issues we must be doing within the subsequent recreation then the outcome will observe. That is all we have to do,” Osako mentioned.
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