Defending title-holders Guangzhou Evergrande crashed out of the Asian Champions League after group rivals Sydney FC and Urawa Red Diamonds played out a goalless draw on Wednesday.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chinese giants won their first game a day earlier but it proved futile as a point each secured the top two spots for Sydney and Urawa with one match to spare.
Sydney reach the last 16 for the first time alongside Urawa, while Chinese domestic champions Evergrande are left licking their wounds after their earliest exit from the competition.
Evergrande won their second Asian title in three seasons last year and they spent heavily in the off-season, buying striker Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid for €42 million (Dh175m).
But they will now have to watch as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Shanghai SIPG – featuring former Evergrande stars Elkeson and Dario Conca – lead the Chinese charge in the knock-out stages.
In a tense game of few chances, Tadanari Lee and Christopher Naumoff both had sight of goal in the first half before Shinzo Koroki nearly put Urawa in front in the 78th minute.
Koroki ran onto a slick backheel from Lee but his low shot was brilliantly saved by Sydney goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic to ensure the game finished 0-0.
Evergrande could still match Urawa’s points tally with victory at home against Sydney next week, but they lose out because of their inferior head-to-head record with the Japanese club.
The match in Sydney kicked off a busy night of action across Asia and the Middle East in the penultimate round of group games.
In East Asia, Jeonbuk Hyuandai Motors went top of Group E with a 3-0 win at FC Tokyo, with Jiangsu Suning of China also jumping into one of the knockout round spots with their 3-0 win over Vietnam’s Binh Duong. With one match left to play in the group stages, though, it is still up in the air between those three, with Jeonbuk on nine points, Jiangsu Suning on eight and Tokyo on seven.
FC Seoul and Shandong Luneng, of China, will advance out of Group F after both clubs were winners on Wednesday night as well. They saw out Thailand’s Buriram United and Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
In Shanghai SIPG’s Group G, Melbourne Victory and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, of South Korea, are even on six points heading into the final group matchday.
In West Asia, Iran’s Zob Ahan have a chance to book their place in the last-16 on Wednesday night out of Group B against Riyadh club Al Nassr. The Saudi side are even on five points with Qatari club Lekhwiya, who face Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.
One of Dubai club Al Nasr or Uzbekistan side Lokomotiv Tashkent will book their place in the next round if they can take three points, while Jeddah’s Al Ittihad and Iran’s Sepahan need three points out of their contest to keep their hopes of advancing alive.
Tuesday night saw Iranian club Tractor Sazi advance out of Group C, with Riyadh club Al Hilal a point ahead of Uzbek club Pakhtakor for the second last-16 spot. El Jaish of Qatar are also through out of Group D, with UAE’s Al Ain and Al Ahli Jeddah battling for the other place in the next round.
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