Vissel Kobe Face Tricky Shanghai SIPG Test in First-Ever AFC Champions League Round of 16 Appearance

Doha, December 06 (QNA) - In their maiden continental campaign, Vissel Kobe were able to reach the Round of 16 in the 2020 AFC Champions League (East) but they now face the challenge of a far more experienced Shanghai SIPG at Khalifa International Stadium on Monday. Topping Group G, the Kobe-based side had a rather less intense schedule having only played three games since the restart following Johor Darul Ta'zim's withdrawal from the tournament leaving just three teams battling for the groups two qualifying spots. Qualification was achieved with two games to spare, leaving coach Atsuhiro Miura with the luxury of rotating his players and experimenting as back-to-back 2-0 defeats did little to change their status as group winners. A two-time AFC Asian Cup winner with Japan in his playing days, Miura is unfazed by the magnitude of the task facing his relatively inexperienced side against a Shanghai SIPG team playing their 17th fixture in the AFC Champions League knock-out stages. Even at the age of 36, Spanish legend Andres Iniestas impact at Vissel Kobe is not limited to the dressing room as his on pitch performances have been key for the J1 League side. As a club captain, Iniesta leads by example. A club-high seven chances created and 97 passes ending in the final third have resulted in a goal and an assist for the veteran who hopes to become the first player to win the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Champions League. Miura's men will also look to Kyogo Furuhashi, the side's top scorer so far in all competitions with 15 goals, three of which have been in the 2020 AFC Champions League. For Shanghai SIPG, the journey to the Round of 16 was longer, seeing them play all six group games in Doha, having been unable to start their campaign in February due to the earlier spread of COVID-19 in China PR. Despite the challenge, head coach Vitor Perreira's side secured progress as Group H runners-up after winning three of their first four games of the campaign. Historically, Shanghai SIPG have fared relatively well against Japanese sides in the competition with a record of eight wins, five draws, and five losses. "We face different teams from different countries with different styles and we must understand our opponents," said Perreira. "Vissel Kobe are a typical Japanese team with a technical passing game. This kind of games can be decided by the small details. One mistake from us or them can decide it. That is why it is important to be focused and try to play at our best level. In a knock-out game, everything is important; our personality while playing and while we have the ball, to try to impose our style, our tactical discipline, our understanding of which kind of team we will face and which kind of spaces we can use and control, these are all important factors in this game." he added. Shanghai SIPG's last appearance in the AFC Champions League knockout stage came in the previous edition, when they edged out Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors through penalties in the Round of 16 before bowing out to eventual runners-up Urawa Red Diamonds on away goals in the quarter-finals. (QNA)