As the fifth round of the AFC Elite League group stage came to an end, the results were revealed and the ranking map changed dramatically, with China time on November 27th witnessing a fierce battle.
In this round of matches, the Chinese Super League army delivered two wins and one loss. Taishan narrowly beat Johor at home, with Zeca scoring twice and Wang Dalei's solid defense to his credit; Port turned back Ulsan Hyundai 3-1 with three headers from Vargas, but their opponents still showed stubborn resistance; and Shenhua were unlucky to lose 0-1 to Gwangju FC.
After five rounds of fierce fighting, Kobe Victory ship with four wins and one draw undefeated record of 13 points to lead the way, Gwangju FC with 12 points followed by Yokohama Mariners and Kawasaki Frontale occupy the third and fourth place with 10 and 9 points respectively. Five teams are tied on seven points, including CSKA 3, Johor and Buriram United. Taishan are seventh with seven points, while Pohang Steelers are 10th with six points. The battle for qualification to the group stage is extremely tight. Ulsan Hyundai are at the bottom of the table with five losses, while Central Coast Mariners are at the bottom of the table with just one point, leaving both teams with little hope of qualifying.
In the next round, Taishan will face Kawasaki Striker on the road and the match will be played on December 4th. However, Cressan will not be able to play in this match as he accumulated three yellow cards in last night's match.
