On Friday 19 August, the round of 16 fixtures of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2022 East took place at Saitama Stadium 2002, where Urawa Red Diamonds faced Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia). David MOBERG, who was named Player-of-the-match, alongside late substitute Kasper JUNKER each scored a brace to propel the Japanese side into the quarterfinals with a 5-0 victory.

Urawa, making their first round of 16 appearance in the ACL since 2019, were coming off a massive league win over Jubilo Iwata, attracting a crowd of 20,691 to their home stadium.

The match started with Urawa’s MATSUO Yusuke and KOIZUMI Yoshio making continues runs in the attacking third to create spaces for their teammates to penetrate from the midfield.

The opening goal came in the eighth minute, when Matsuo drew a foul inside the box after responding to a deflection of a shot taken by SAKAI Hiroki. Alexander SCHOLZ stepped up and converted the spot kick to give Urawa the lead.

With momentum on their side, Urawa continued to apply pressure upfront. In the 19th minute, Tomoaki OKUBO responded to a through ball sent by Koizumi, before earning a free kick just outside the penalty area. Moberg converted this free kick with a left footed shot to double the Urawa lead.

Johor, who earned the top spot in their group over Kawasaki Frontale and Ulsan Hyundai FC, made their first round of 16 appearance in the ACL under the leadership of Argentinian coach Hector BIDOGLIO, who took over the helm late July, started the match with Arif AIMAN and Fernando FORESTIERI creating chances upfront, but couldn’t quite capitalise on their opportunities.

Even after falling behind 0-2, the Malaysian side continued to challenge the Urawa defence with their attacks led by BERGSON, Nazmi FAIZ, and Forestieri. However, with Scholz and IWANAMI Takuya making their presence felt at the centre, Urawa firmly kept the clean sheet intact.

In the 39th minute, the cross delivered by Matsuo from the right side was redirected back towards the goal by Koizumi, setting up the goal of Moberg to make it 3-0.

Johor’s biggest opportunity came in the 60th minute, when Urawa’s goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku fumbled the header of Natxo INSA, giving Forestieri a chance to head the ball into the open net, but Iwanami made a spectacular effort to block this shot.

In efforts to get on the scoresheet, Johor continued to make attempts upfront, as Bergson, Safawi RASID, and Forestieri took shots from distance, but couldn’t hit the target.

Urawa on the other hand, managed to exploit the open space behind the attacking opponents, as Esaka Ataru assisted the goal of Junker in the 84th minute to further extend the lead.

Esaka and Junker once again linked-up just before the final whistle, as the Danish striker calmly converted Esaka’s final pass to cap off Urawa’s 5-0 victory.

With this victory, Urawa are now into the quarterfinals along with Vissel Kobe, as they seek to claim their third ACL title, which will also be their first since 2017.

BG Pathum score four goals to make first ACL quarterfinals

BG Pathum United (Thailand), who have reached the round of 16 for the second straight year, faced Kitchee SC (Hong Kong), who made their first round of 16 appearance, at Urawa Komaba Stadium, where the Thai club scored two goals in each half to win the match 4-0, reaching the ACL quarterfinals for the first time.

Led by coach TEGURAMORI Makoto, who formally coached the U-23 Japan National Team and Vegalta Sendai, Pathum scored the first goal in the 34th minute when Worachit KANITSRIBAMPEN responded to a long feed delivered from his own goalkeeper, dribbled his way into the opposing box to score the opener. Five minutes later, 23 year old Ikhsan FANDI struck a powerful shot from distance to double the lead before halftime.

With a commanding lead, Thai international Teerasil DANGDA converted the cross delivered by DIOGO in the 68th minute to make it 3-0, before Chatmongkol THONGKIRI, who entered as a late substitute, scored the fourth goal to cap off Pathum’s 4-0 victory.

The quarterfinals will be played at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Monday 22 August.

Coaches and Players' Comments

Ricardo RODRIGUEZ, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We managed to enter the match in great shape and demonstrated a fabulous performance. It was great that we were able to enter halftime with a 3-0 lead and I think we have been maintaining spectacular form as a team. We were challenged in the second half but were still able to extend the lead while keeping a clean sheet. Ahead of the match, I have told our team that we needed to focus on containing the opponent’s two attackers and to stay alerted as we enter the match. The players fought extremely hard. However, we have not accomplished anything yet, so we will continue to work hard in the remaining two matches.

MF  David MOBERG (Urawa Red Diamonds)
The competitions are intense at the ACL, but I feel like we were able to put our strong determination on display and showcase a solid performance. We were also able to make conscious efforts to manage the game and score goals in the process. I am glad that I was able to score goals, but I am happier for this result, as the team’s victory is our top priority. I want to repay my coach’s trust by scoring more goals and contributing for the team’s victory in various ways, not only with my free kicks.

MF  ITO Atsuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
I have been able to stay on the same page with my teammates, including Moberg, which has allowed us to bring out the best in ourselves. We have been able to work in tandem, while also earning results in our recent matches, so we hope to carry this form into the ACL final.

FW  Kasper JUNKER (Urawa Red Diamonds)
This is a positive result as our first step towards the ACL final. It is important that we score goals, so I was prepared to make the most of my opportunities. I was making conscious efforts to be in the right spot and the assists of Esaka were also great. The fact that we have been able to play at Saitama Stadium gives us a great advantage and it has allowed us to enter the matches in great form. The team is carrying great momentum right now, which is leading to good goals and positive results, so we hope to keep it going.

Hector BIDOGLIO, Coach (Johor Darul Ta'zim)
Urawa are a very competitive team, so we knew that they would be applying aggressive pressure against us to make it a tough match. We wanted to keep possession of the ball, but the second goal we conceded from a free kick made it very difficult. I think the players fought very hard. There were many things we could learn from the way Urawa kept their formation compact, and now that we know the standards of the ACL, we have a reference point to work towards.

Tournament Information