On Wednesday 25 May, the first leg of Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017 saw Urawa Reds making consecutive appearances in the ACL knockout phase face Jeju United (Korea).

In this away encounter, Urawa conceded an early goal to MARCELO TOSCANO in the 7th minute and failed to find an equaliser, but instead allowed the Korean side to secure a 2-0 win with an added-time goal by JIN SEONGUK.

Match Report (Japanese version only)

Urawa will battle the second leg at home on Wednesday 31 May at Saitama Stadium 2002.

Coach's Comment

Mihailo PETROVIC, Coach (Urawa Reds)
It was a thrilling encounter for both sides. We lost to Jeju, but it was a close contest until the end of the match. We discussed before the game that we should be very cautious about their counter-attacks, but unfortunately we conceded a breakaway goal after losing the ball poorly. This was not the only occasion where we lost possession and allowed the opponents to hit us on the counter. They created several threatening chances. Despite being fully aware of their counter-attacking ability before the game, we still let them play to their strength.

Taking on the risk of the counter-attacks, we still had at least three decisive chances to score in the first half. We performed much better in the second and dominated the match as we managed to create several scoring chances, while not allowing the opponents to hit us on the counter. However, we failed to score, and instead conceded a crucial second goal in added time off a counter. Having lost the first leg, we will be facing a tough second leg as well. However, I believe we are fully capable of winning at home and advancing to the next round.

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

Round of 16 - Second Leg

30 May 2017 (Tue.)
Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) vs Muangthong United (Thailand)

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

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

Tournament Information