On Wednesday 18 September, the second leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 quarterfinals took place, as Kashima Antlers drew against Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao (China PR) 1-1 at home. With the first leg ending in a scoreless draw, Kashima was eliminated from the tournament with the difference in away goals.

Kashima entered the second leg knowing that they can advance through to the semi-finals with a win. Following their weekend fixture against FC Tokyo at the J.League, Kashima rotated MISAO Kento and SHIRASAKI Ryohei to NAGAKI Ryota and NAGO Shintaro for this AFC clash against the Chinese powerhouse.

Just as coach OIWA Go aimed for, the Kashima eleven did a fine job to create opportunities in the early minutes, as ITO Sho, Leo SILVA, and SERGINHO all came close to scoring a goal in the first half but fell short from finding the net.

The league leaders of the Chinese Super League created their opportunities through their two attackers, TALISCA and ELKESON, but struggled to break through the solid defence showcased by Kashima in the early minutes. However, as the match progressed, Guangzhou gradually picked up their pace and broke the dead lock in the 40th minute, when Talisca converted a corner kick delivered by HUANG Bowen to take the lead.

With Guangzhou scoring an away goal, Kashima now needed a win to advance. In the 51st minute, the equaliser came in an unexpected fashion, as the shot taken by Leo Silva deflected off Serginho and captured the net. Desperately needing one more goal, Kashima continued to threaten the visitor’s goal, as Ito, DOI Shoma, and Serginho all came close to scoring the go-ahead goal but fell short from getting the job done.

In efforts to take the lead, Kashima brought SOMA Yuki, UEDA Ayase, and YAMAGUCHI Kazuma into the match, but struggled to break down the solid defence showcased by Guangzhou. Kashima’s final opportunity came when Serginho delivered a pass to Leo Silva, who dribbled into the penalty area before striking a shot, but the shot was blocked by the opposing defender, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

As a result, Guangzhou advanced to the next round with an aggregate score of 1-1, and a one goal advantage in away goals. They will now face Urawa Red Diamonds at the semi-finals, where the first leg will take place at Urawa on Wednesday 2 October, and second leg at Guangzhou on Wednesday 23 October.

At the West division, Al Sadd SC (Qatar) won over Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) with an aggregate score of 4-3, while Al Hilal SFC (Saudi Arabia) defeated Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) 3-1 in aggregate score. The semi-finals for the West division will take place on Tuesday 1 and Tuesday 22 October.

Coaches and Players' Comments

OIWA Go, Coach (Kashima Antlers)
I feel responsible for this loss and I am very sorry for our supporters. We played a bit too passively in the first half, and that may have allowed our opponents to gain momentum in this match. However, the performance we showed in the second half was a something we should be proud of, and we came awfully close to coming from behind. As the defending champions, it was evident that our opponents had analysed our game throughout the competition, but that was something within our expectations. We were able to utilise the experience from last year to maintain our conditions and cope with the difficulties of the home-and-away format, but still couldn’t advance through to the next round. We must accept this result and move on, so that we can prepare ourselves for the Emperor's Cup. I told my players that we must feed off of this experience in order to reach higher goals in the future.

MF Leo SILVA (Kashima Antlers)
We knew this was going to be a tough match for us. After conceding the opening goal, we managed to score the equaliser and created numbers of opportunities but failed to convert our chances. Despite being eliminated from the competition, we should be proud of our performance. In the last scene where I played a give and go with Serginho, the shot was definitely going in if the defender didn’t reach out his leg. I would like to congratulate Guangzhou for their victory.

MF INUKAI Tomoya (Kashima Antlers)
This tournament was our biggest goal since the start of the season, so I am very disappointed to be eliminated. Even before the match, we knew that the set-pieces will play a key role in their offence, but we still conceded a goal from a corner kick, so that is an aspect we must improve on. After conceding the opening goal, we were still confident that we can come back to score two goals, so this result is very regretful. We are now done with the ACL, so we must reset our minds and prepare ourselves for the Emperor's Cup.

Fabio CANNAVARO, Coach (Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao)
Our players showcased a wonderful performance today. Our defence had the tendency to lack concentration at times, so prior to the match , I told my player to concentrate on the match 100% for 95 minutes. The players did a fine job to stay focused and displayed great spirit form the early minutes of the match. Following the first leg, we figured that we can create more opportunities by placing Talisca at the centre and Paulinho in the left, so we made changes to our formation and managed to create more chances to threaten the opposing goal. Kashima is a very strong team with great techniques and sophisticated strategies. I am proud of my players. This match has given us a great boost to our confidence to win the ACL title.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019
Round of 16: Tue. 18 June - Tue. 13 August 2019
Quarterfinals: Tue. 27 August - Wed. 18 September 2019
Semi-finals: Tue. 1 - Wed. 23 October 2019
Final: 1st Leg/Sat. 9 November 2019, 2nd Leg/Sun. 24 November 2019

Tournament Information