Cerezo Osaka were shocked 3-1 by Shandong Luneng at home, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima were handed a 2-1 loss at the hands of Central Coast Mariners in Australia in their second game of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
　After playing away in Tokushima in a J. League match on Saturday, Cerezo put forward Kakitani Yoichiro on the bench while starting Sugimoto Kenyu up front with Uruguay forward Diego Forlan.
　But five minutes into the game, the hosts gave up the opener to Shandong through Aloisio who headed home after being set up by a header from Wang Yongpo.
　Shandong, guided by new Brazilian boss Cuca who led Atletico Mineiro to glory in the Libertadores Cup last year, went on to pressure the J. League players. The visitors widened their lead in the 26th minute when Vagner Love latched on to a long feed from his goalkeeper Wang Dalei, beat his marker and fired home from inside the box.
　The Brazilian international and former CSKA Moscow forward found the target again in the 56th minute again off a Du Wei free-kick to give Shandong a 3-0 lead.
　Cerezo rallied in the second half after bringing on Kakitani. The Japan forward struck in the 84th minute as the hosts pulled a goal back. But it was too little, too late.
　“I don’t think there was such a big difference in the quality of the two teams as shown in the scores, but our players lacked aggressiveness or competitiveness while our opponents came out very aggressively,” said Cerezo manager Ranko Popovic.
　“We should remember that football is a competition and a battle. It is important for us to keep today’s game as a lesson and use what we’ve learned from today’s game in our coming games.”
　With the result, Cerezo dropped to the bottom of Group E with just one point, behind third-placed Buriram United on goal difference. Shandong, with four points, took the lead and Pohang Steelers (also four) were second on goal difference.
　In Australia, J. League champions Hiroshima went ahead in the 21st minute thanks to Shiotani Tsukasa’s strike.
　But the visitors gave up an equalizer to their Australian hosts two minutes later through Mile Serjovski. The Mariners forward made it 2-1 for his side in the 32nd minute.
　Hiroshima launched a fierce rally in the second half, but couldn’t find the target.
　In Group F, Hiroshima, with one point, went down to the bottom of the table. Seoul, who drew 1-1 at Beijing Guoan, took the group lead with four points, followed by Central Coast (three) and Beijing (two).