Vissel Kobe Seal AFC Champions League Round of 16 Berth After Beating Guangzhou Evergrande FC

Doha, November 25 (QNA) - Vissel Kobe sealed their place in the 2020 AFC Champions League Round of 16 (East) with a 3-1 win over China PRs Guangzhou Evergrande in Group G at Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday. Late goals from substitute Douglas and former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta sealed the win for the Japanese club, after Kyogo Furuhashi scored at both ends in an action-packed encounter. Struggling in their domestic league, Vissel Kobe have now accrued six points from two ACL matches, putting them five points clear of both Guangzhou and Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the three-team group. Having seen his side fail to score against Suwon in their last hit out, Fabio Cannavaro added Anderson Talisca and Ai Kesen, formerly Elkeson, to the Guangzhou starting line-up, but the Chinese side were dealt a blow when captain Zhang Linpeng succumbed to injury within the opening 10 minutes. But Vissel Kobe, who were appearing in Doha for the first time, improved as the first half went on, and their reward arrived via Furuhashi in the 44th minute. The game's opening goal owed much to the increasingly influential Iniesta, who dribbled to the by-line before squaring the ball for his teammate, with Furuhashi practically unable to miss from directly in front. Cannavaro and his players both responded immediately; the former by making three half-time substitutions, and the latter by increasing their intensity in the early minutes of the second half. Ai Kesen prodded an effort into the crossbar, and it wasnt long before Guangzhou were level, with Furuhashi turning the ball into his own net in a desperate attempt to keep out a looping attempt from Talisca in the 55th minute. Ai Kesen looked to have salvaged a point when he bundled the ball in with eight minutes remaining, but the goal was ruled out for offside, and Iniesta sealed the win for Vissel Kobe when he poked home a third in the 84th minute, stretching Guangzhous winless run against Japanese opposition to six, and giving them much to think about ahead of their second clash against Vissel on Saturday. (QNA)