There are high hopes for all Chinese teams in the Champions League this term and ahead of matchday five, two Chinese teams could secure advancement: Guangzhou Evergrande and Tianjin Quanjian.
TIANJIN V KITCHEE
In a repeat of the opening day fixture that Tianjin cruised through with a 3-0 victory, the Chinese side took home all three points yet again as they secured a 1-0 victory. Tianjin have also secured their place in the next round as results in the other fixture in the group went their way. A win for Tianjin and defeat for Kashiwa did the trick. It was a controlled performance from Tianjin as they dominated possession but failed to find the winner until the penultimate minute of the match as Anthony Modeste propped up with the winner. The result was never really in doubt apart from a couple of moments in the game.
GUANGZHOU V BURIRAM UNITED
Guangzhou Evergrande were a win and results going their way from booking their place in the next round. But while Cerezo beat Jeju and did their bit, Fabio Cannavaro couldn’t guide his side to the last 16 as they could only manage a 1-1 draw. It was a disappointing result for the Chinese champions and they might yet go out of the Champions League in the group stage. For all of Guangzhou’s hold on the game, they conceded an injury time goal to drop two vital points. Zheng Long opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Yoo Jun-soo rescued a point for Buriram.
SHANGHAI SIPG V KAWASAKI FRONTALE
Shanghai SIPG have got off to a flying start to the campaign both domestically and in Asia. Top of the league with 3 wins from 3 games and a healthy goal difference of +13. Continentally too, they have booked their place in the next stage and could afford to rest their players ahead of the weekend’s league action. But all of Shanghai’s stars like Oscar and Hulk played but the team were second best for most of the game. Elkeson opened the scoring against the run of play in the second half but Kawasaki equalized minutes later as the teams shared the points. Despite the draw, Shanghai are through to the next round and need just a point from their game against Melbourne Victory to secure first place.
SHANGHAI SHENHUA V KASHIMA ANTLERS
It was another disappointing day at work for the Shanghai players as they could only manage a draw in what was a must win game. Shanghai are now eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage itself. The fact that Shanghai lead 2-0 at the break before virtually collapsing in the second period would hurt the fans even more.
It was a disappointing matchday for Chinese teams in general as only Tianjin managed to secure victory and a place in the knockouts while Shenhua were eliminated. Guangzhou are not assured of qualification just yet but are in control of their own destiny.