The 2022 Asian League Champions Cup East Asia group stage has been completed, Hong Kong Premier League club Jiezhi has successfully broken through the group stage to reach the last 16 of the tournament, of course, congratulations; as for the representatives of the Japanese League, Yokohama Marinos, Urawa Red Diamonds, and Kobe Marinos have also successfully progressed to the final stage, on the contrary, Kawasaki Maiden, who was expected to be the best in the tournament before the tournament, has been eliminated, and we are going to summarize the performance of the JLFC clubs in the group stage of the 2022 Asian League Champions Cup.
Group F: Urawa Red Diamonds advances in thriller
Urawa Red Diamonds, who entered the AFC Champions League as champions of the Emperor's Cup, have been drawn into Group F, where their opponents include
China Super League (soccer league)
FC Dongdong, FC Daegu and Singapore's Lion City Mariners, while Poho Red Diamonds are expected to be in a battle with FC Daegu for the first place in the tournament.
Urawa Red Diamonds won their first two matches against the weaker FC Dongshan and Lion City Mariners, which indirectly made the third and fourth matches against FC Daegu important. In the third group stage match, the first meeting between Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Daegu, Urawa Red Diamonds suffered a disappointing 0-1 loss, which indirectly puts them in a disadvantageous position to win the first place.
In their second meeting, Urawa Red Diamonds put out a strong lineup to try to recover the numerical disadvantage, with Hiroki Sakai, Ren Ezaka, Carlson, and Takayoshi Sekine in the starting lineup, which showed their determination. Although Urawa Red Diamonds had 70% of the possession and four times more shots than FC Daegu, they still failed to get anything out of the game and exchanged a draw with FC Daegu.
Fortunately, Pohang Red Diamonds won their next two matches against Lion City Mariners and FC Dongshan, eventually catching up with FC Daegu with 13 points, but Pohang Red Diamonds were not as good as their rivals in terms of head-to-head results, and came in second place. However, when calculating the best three second-placed teams in the whole tournament, after deducting the results of FC Dongshan, which was at the bottom of the same group, Urawa Red Diamonds had 7 points, which was better than Melbourne City, the second-placed team in Group G, and Kawasaki Vanguard, the second-placed team in Group I. As a result, Urawa Red Diamonds succeeded in advancing to the Round of 16 as one of the best three second-placed teams.
Group H: Yokohama Mariners show strength
The Yokohama Mariners have not had outstanding results in the Asian Clubs Cup, and have only reached the last 16 of the reformed AFC Champions League. This year, Yokohama Mariners have been placed in Group H. The strongest opponent in the same group is of course Jeonbuk Motors, the representative of Korean Professional League, while FC Sydney, the representative of Australian Professional League, and HA Gia Lai, the representative of Vietnam, which has the advantage of home field, should not be underestimated.
Yokohama Mariners will face the host team HA Ka Lai in their first group game. In terms of cards, Yokohama Mariners' strength is more than one level higher than HA Ka Lai, but the opponent has the advantage of home field, Yokohama Mariners don't dare to slacken and send the first lineup to the battlefield. Yokohama Mariners took less than 30 minutes to take the lead with two solo goals from Brazilian shot-stopper Rio Schiala. Although Takuya Kita scored a goal against HA Ka Lae, Yokohama Mariners finally won 2-1, which is finally a good start for the team.
Due to the average strength of each team in Group H, every game is a tough battle for Yokohama Mariners, and the second game against Jeonbuk Motors is even more crucial. Jeonbuk Motors had a lot of players diagnosed in the first match, and only managed to draw a blank with FC Sydney with half strength. Therefore, the Yokohama Mariners made some changes to their lineup, with Teruto Nakagawa, Rioschalla, and Magos Zulia in the back-up, which seems to be a good idea. As usual, Yokohama Mariners dominated the game, while Jeonbuk Motors waited for a chance to counterattack. However, Jeonbuk Motors' left winger Kim Jin-soo was violated by Matsubara Ken in the first half and scored a 12-yard goal, which was then scored by Izumi Izumi. Yokohama Mariners fought back for the rest of the match, but Jeonbuk Motors' defense had a high level of performance to keep them in the game, and the Mariners suffered a one-goal loss.
Being behind Jeonbuk Motors in terms of points, Yokohama Mariners can't afford to lose two more matches against FC Sydney in a row. Coach Mescart sent a weaker team to the first match against FC Sydney, but still managed to win by one goal. In the next match, Yokohama Mariners sent a stronger lineup and won by three goals. Coinciding with Jeonbuk Motors' draw by HA Galle on the same day, Yokohama Mariners went to the top of the table with one point over Jeonbuk Motors after four rounds.
In the fifth match against HA Karaage, the Yokohama Mariners clearly absorbed the experience of the first match and didn't give their opponents too much breathing room on the field, and although the score was only 2-0, the Yokohama Mariners were in control of the whole game and won.
In the last match, Yokohama Mariners could secure the top spot in the group by drawing with Jeonbuk Motors, while Jeonbuk Motors only needed a point to secure the second best team, so a draw would be the best ending for both sides. However, the two sides started the match with a bang, with Andersen Lubis giving Yokohama Mariners the lead in just four minutes, while Jeonbuk Motors' star midfielder Kim Bo-Kyung equalized in the 11th minute. Although both teams scored quickly, they were unable to add more goals in the rest of the match. As a result, the Yokohama Mariners and Jeonbuk Motors finished at the top of Group H and progressed to the next stage.
Jeonbuk Motors is the leader of the Korean team in recent years, and has good results in the AFC Champions League. This year, Yokohama Mariners managed to even the score with their opponents and overpowered them to advance to the first place, which is a shot in the arm for the whole team, and I believe that Yokohama Mariners will be able to get a good result in the AFC Champions League this year.
:: Group I: Kawasaki Frontale's disappointing performance
Kawasaki Strikers have established themselves as the dominant team in the JLF in recent years, but their performance in the AFC Champions League has been mediocre, with a best result of eight appearances in the tournament, only reaching the last eight, and three early exits in the group stage. This year, Kawasaki Striker has been placed in Group I. In the same group are Ulsan Hyundai, the representative of the Korean Confederation and the champion of the 2020 AFC Champions League, and Johor DT, the representative of Malaysia, which has the advantage of home field and a large expansion of the army, so on the surface it is already difficult to get out of the group, and it is difficult to get out of the group.
China Super League (soccer league)
Representing FC Guangzhou is going to be a cannon fodder role in Group I.
Kawasaki Striker will face Ulsan Hyundai in their first match, and with both teams topping their respective leagues, this match is highly anticipated. Ulsan Hyundai have always played with a steady and aggressive style, and this game was no exception, as Brazilian striker Lee Annadolas Vento took the lead in the 21st minute of the game on a counterattack. Kawasaki Striker's disciplined defense made their usual butterfly attack ineffective, and they had to fight hard until the extra time with a goal from Shintaro Cheya, so they didn't lose all three points in their first match.
Against the weakest team FC Guangzhou, Kawasaki Striker didn't let their hands go and took the chance to get rid of the first match. Kobayashi Yoru, Zhinen Kei, Cheya Gentaro, Chainat and youngster Miyagi Tian shared 8 goals to help the team to a big win, but they still lagged behind Johor DT, who had beaten Ulsan Hyundai by a cold streak on the same day to get two wins in two matches.
Despite having the advantage of home field, Johor DT's victory over Ulsan Hyundai proved their strength, and Kawasaki Strikers didn't have any obvious advantage. In their first match against Johor DT in the third group stage, Kawasaki Striker failed to create any threatening attacking goal despite having the advantage of possession, and the result was a draw.
Learning from the experience of the third match, Kawasaki Strikers' performance in the fourth match against Johor DT was much improved and their attack was more direct than before. In the first half, Kawasaki Strikers took a three-goal lead at halftime with the first goal by Wakizaka and two goals by Kobayashi Yoh, while late in the second half, Marciano and Cherating added to the lead, resulting in a 5-0 win over the hosts.
After four matches, Kawasaki Frontale were at the top of the table with 8 points, followed by Ulsan Hyundai and Johor DT with 7 points, which gave Kawasaki Frontale a dominant position in the group. Unfortunately, Kawasaki Strikers faced Ulsan Hyundai, the strongest team in the group, in the fifth match, and the problem of unstable defense appeared again this year, Ulsan Hyundai had a two-goal lead in the first 20 minutes of the match. Although Lee Ando D'Amio scored a goal to help his team to get closer before halftime, Ulsan Hyundai made the game 3-1 soon after the start of the second half, and even if Lee Ando D'Amio scored in the late stage, it was still no use. Kawasaki Frontale lost 3-2.
Johor DT beat FC Guangzhou in the fifth match, and Kawasaki Strikers dropped to the third place in Group I, two points behind the above two teams. After deducting FC Guangzhou's result, Kawasaki Striker only has 5 points. Even if they win their last game, if Ulsan Hyundai and Johor DT win their last game, Kawasaki Striker will be out of Group I. The only way to get out of Group I is to hope for a draw on the other side of the draw. The only way out of the group is to hope for a draw on the other side of the draw, and Kawasaki Strikers can finish at the top of the group with the best head-to-head record after the three teams are tied. Since the situation is quite passive, Kawasaki Strikers didn't need to fight for a big win against FC Guangzhou, and they won 1-0 with a goal from Ji Nim-kyeong. Unfortunately, Ulsan Hyundai was defeated by Johor DT in the extra time, and as a result, Johor DT managed to finish first in the group, while Kawasaki Strikers finally went out of the tournament with a disappointing result.
In recent years, fans have often criticized Kawasaki Striker for not being determined to fight for good results in the AFC Champions League, only to dominate domestically. If Kawasaki Striker wants to win more recognition from the fans, it really needs to improve the results of the AFC Champions League to get.
Group J: Kobe Victory meets expectations
The second time Kobe Victory fell into Group J in this year's group stage, with Hong Kong Premier League representative Jiezhi and Thai League representative Chiang Rai United in the same group. Kobe Victory is better in terms of cards, but the team's form is low this season, so before the match, some fans believed that Jiezhi and Chiang Rai United would be able to compete for the first place in the lineup.
Kobe Victory will face Hong Kong's Jiezhi in their first group stage match. Jiezhi won their first group stage match against Chiang Rai United 1-0, in other words, Kobe Victory will need 3 points to get out of the group stage. It took only 15 minutes for Kobe Victory to open the scoring, but Jiezhi failed to break through the Kobe goal despite the attack; Kobe even extended their lead in the 85th minute of the match with Inoue Shiozumi. Although Jiezhi's goal was broken by Elixir in the extra time, it was not enough for the match to be settled, and Kobe Victory Dockets won the match.
In the second match, Kobe Shengli faced Chiang Rai United, who had half of the home field advantage, but the situation was surprisingly lopsided. Chiang Rai United's weak attacking force, which was already defeated against Jie Zhi earlier on, is going to attack against Kobe Victory Boat this time, and as a result, the back line of the defense will be exposed to a lot of empty space. Kobe Satsuma took a four-goal lead in the first half of the match, and in the second half, Lian Gan Goliya and Ryo Osaki added the finishing touches, resulting in a six-goal win, which puts Kobe Satsuma at the top of the Group J standings.
On the fourth matchday, Kobe Satsuma faced Chiang Rai United again, and the team continued to play with their main lineup after the big win in the previous match. However, the performance of Kobe Victory was not as good as before, they could not break through the opponent's door even though they dominated the whole game, and as a result, they could only hand each other a blank sheet with one point each, and they are at the top of the Group J with 7 points for the time being.
While Kobe Victory ship is empty on the fifth matchday, Jieji won again against Chiang Rai United to follow them with 6 points. As the rest of the group has been finalized, Kobe, with 7 points in hand, has already secured one of the best second-place finishes, and the remaining match is just a battle for the top spot for Jiechi, who on the other hand needs at least 1 point to qualify.
In the last group game, Kobe Victory was not under any pressure to get out of the tournament, and they didn't really press Jiezhi after the kickoff. Both teams had a 12-yarder at the end of the half, and both teams managed to capitalize on it, resulting in a one-goal draw. In the second half, the two teams were still in a stalemate, but the 87th minute goal scored by Yoshinori Muto, who had recovered from injury, gave Kobe the lead, and put Jie Zhi on the verge of going out of the tournament. However, Jiezhi's midfielder Barna scored from a corner kick in extra time to make it a 2-2 draw, and both teams qualified for the play-offs with a draw, which was a happy ending for both teams.
Kobe Victory have made it past the group stage of the AFC Champions League on both occasions. Two years ago Kobe Victory made it to the quarter-finals, but this year the team will be distracted by relegation protection, so it seems not easy to make a success in the AFC Champions League again.
The AFC Champions League round of 16 will resume in mid-August, Urawa Red Diamonds will face Malaysia's miracle team Johor DT, do not take it lightly; as for Yokohama Mariners will be staged with Kobe Victory in the JLF infighting, the two armies will have a team out of the game is really quite a pity. The last time a Nippon Professional League team dominated the AFC Champions League was back in 2018 with Kashima Antlers, so here's wishing the Nippon Professional League team good luck again this year.
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
May 7, 1:00pm Shimizu S Pulse vs Kawasaki Frontale Cable 602/662
May 7, 2:00 p.m. Yokohama Mariners vs. Nagoya Whales Cable TV 601/661
May 8, 2:00pm FC Tokyo vs Tosu Sandstone Cable 602/662
May 8, 3:00 pm: Kashiwa Reysol vs Urawa Red Diamonds Cable TV 601/661
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
May 8, 12:00 p.m. Akita Blue Lightning vs. FC Yokohama Cable 602/662
May 8, 1:00 p.m. Niigata Swan vs. Tokyo Green Cable 601/661
