On Wednesday 9 May, the final group-stage matches of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017 saw Group E Kashima Antlers and Group F Urawa Reds, assured of progression to the Round of 16, secure the top spots and advance to the knockout phase of the competition.

Entering the final matchday in second place, Kashima clinched the group by edging 2-1 against leaders Muangthong United at home, and, despite losing to FC Seoul 1-0 in an away game, Urawa sealed the first place on better head-to-head record against second-placed Shanghai SIPG, who also fell short against Western Sydney Wanderers FC 3-2 on the same date.

As with Kawasaki Frontale on the previous day, all three Japanese teams got through to the knockout stages by topping the group.

Suzuki scores a brace for Kashima

At the end of fifth matchday, Kashima Antlers were second place and two points behind group leaders Muangthong. In order for finish top of the group, the Kashima club needed to win the head-to-head encounter with the Thai champions. Despite losing their starter forward KANAZAKI Mu due to injury, his replacement SUZUKI Yuma came through and scored a brace for his side to capture an important win.

Kashima created several early chances by exploiting the space behind the opposing defenders, and a pair of close attempts came from midfielder DOI Shoma and midfielder LEO Silva in the 4th and 17th minutes, respectively. Then, after 19 minutes, Suzuki was put through cleanly by a brilliant through pass by midfielder ENDO Yasushi down the right flank, and the Kashima striker superbly dodged the challenge of the onrushing goalkeeper just inside the box to composedly slot home an opener from a tight angle.

Missing three key players including Spaniard XISCO who scored a stoppage-time winner in the previous 2-1 home encounter, visitors Muangthong threatened the hosts by fullbacks aggressively surging up the flanks and midfielder Chanathip SONGKRASIN, who will be loaned to J.League Sapporo Consadore this July, carving through the Kashima defence with his excellent dribbling skills.

Right on the stroke of halftime, Muangthong levelled the match with left fullback Theeraton BUNMATHAN splitting the Kashima defence on the left to square a neat pass towards forward Teerasil DANGDA in the less-guarded centre, where the Thai striker nutmegged an approaching defender on the turn to find himself in space to nail a stunner to the top corner from just outside of the box.

In search for a tiebreaker, Kashima came out aggressively with Doi cutting inside to attempt from range right after the break and PEDRO JUNIOR firing just outside of the box in the 54th minute, but both efforts failed to find the back of the net.

Thereafter, Kashima struggled to break through the Muangthong defence who stayed backed and created blocks in the centre, but it only took 6 minutes for the Japanese club to break the tie. On the hour mark, another brilliant cross from Endo on the right found Suzuki between the defenders in front of the goal. Then, the Kashima forward restored the lead with a header deflected off his own leg and past the Thai goalkeeper.

Now being one-goal behind, Muangthong came close to Kashima goal with a pair of threatening attempts. In the 62nd minute, Bunmathan went past the Antlers defence on the left flank to strike a shot at goal, and after 78 minutes, receiving a long ball off an interception, Dangda looked for an equaliser, but both efforts were guarded superbly by goalkeeper KWOUN Sun-Tae.

Last-ditch effort to equalise was put forth by the visitors through substitutions in the last 10 minutes, but Kashima managed the clock wisely by keeping possession and maintained a one-goal lead until the final whistle to grab an important win to climb to the summit of the group stage.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Urawa fall to Seoul

Assured of a place in the Last 16 after five games with four wins and one loss, Urawa entered the match with seven different players from the weekend league-match lineups, including midfielder TAKAGI Toshiyuki returning after four months from injury, winter transfer goalkeeper ENOMOTO Tetsuya and few reserves starting for the first time this season.

Partly due to the unaccustomed names to begin the match, Urawa never found their rhythm in the first half, and instead allowed the Korean counterparts to open the scoring with YOON Seok-Hyun’s goal in the 38th minute.

The storyline remained the same in the second half, as Urawa continued to struggle to find the attacking flair, and substitutes midfielder YAJIMA Shinya who recently recovered from injury and midfielder UMESAKI Tsukasa did little to change the scoreboard. Failing to strike an equaliser until the end of the match, Urawa fell short in a scoreless 1-0 defeat to FC Seoul and lost for the second time in their Asian campaign.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Level on points with Urawa after losing to Western Sydney on the same day, Shanghai SIPG remained in second place on worse head-to-head competition against the Japanese counterparts.

After today’s fixtures, the opponents of the round-of-16 matches for the three Japanese clubs were finalised. Kashima will face runners-up of Group G and two-time ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande (China), Urawa will square off against second place of Group H Jeju United (Korea), and Kawasaki will meet Muangthong who dropped to second spot of Group E. Both Kawasaki and Kashima will play an away game on Tuesday 23 May, followed by a home game on Tuesday 30, while Urawa will battle the first leg on Wednesday 24 on the road and the second leg on Wednesday 31 at home.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

ISHII Masatada, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
I am pleased that we achieved our primary goals of topping the group and winning all the matches at home for the group stage. After we scored an opener, my players might have lost their concentration, as their attacks were easily defended and they allowed the opponents to score an equaliser. At halftime, I gathered my players and said, “Enough talking about topping the group. Let’s get it done on the pitch.” Then, in the second half, my players responded brilliantly with excellent work-rate and succeeded in scoring the go-ahead goal to secure an important win. We still need to make minor adjustments, and we will do our best to prepare for the upcoming away game.

FW SUZUKI Yuma (Kashima Antlers)
Today we faced an important home game, where we could not afford to lose. I am pleased that we came up with a win. In addition to feeling responsible for the previous loss by missing a penalty, I simply haven’t scored in recent matches. Therefore, I was quite determined to score today. In the ACL competition, we cannot give the opponents the edge in one-on-one duels or play without fully committing to the ball. By winning these tight battles on the ball, we are looking to advance to the latter stages of the competition.

MF ENDO Yasushi (Kashima Antlers)
We had given the opponents a chance to score by not making quick transition defensively, and we talked over during halftime to tighten up our defence and made the necessary adjustments before entering the second half. We played superbly after the break, and we are looking to use this as our benchmark for our future performances to consistently play at this level. We are aiming to win the ACL as well. As I consider us to be fully capable of achieving that goal, we will continue our best efforts to become the champions. We also suffered a bitter defeat against Guangzhou Evergrande. We will get together to clarify our game plan prior to the coming encounter.

Totchtawan SRIPAN, Coach (Muangthong United)
We had few players who missed the match due to suspension or poor physical condition. However, I am pleased that we all fought together as team. In previous away games, we focused first on defence and waited for chances to hit on the counter. But today, we put 60% towards attacking, and looked to score at least one goal. We still do not consider us to be level with the peers, and we will put our best efforts in the next round, regardless of who the opponents might be.

Tournament Period：24 January 2017 (Tue.) ～ 25 November 2017 (Sat.)

Round of 16 First Leg
23 May 2017 (Tue.)
Muangthong United(Thailand) vs Kawasaki Frontale(Japan)

23 May 2017 (Tue.)
Guangzhou Evergrande(China) vs Kashima Antlers(Japan)

24 May 2017 (Wed.)
Jeju United(Korea) vs Urawa Reds(Japan)

Tournament Information