J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds came back from two goals down to draw with Sydney FC as Kawasaki Frontale's blushes were spared by a late own goal in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
Sydney looked on course for a second win in two group matches when they found themselves two-up after 23 minutes.
But Urawa pulled one back through Robson Ponte in the 30th minute before Sydney 'keeper Clint Bolton spilled the ball in front of Yuchiro Nagai, allowing him to poke home a second-half equalizer to make it 2-2.
Urawa and Sydney are level on points at the top of Group E with four rounds remaining, ahead of Persik Kediri, who stunned bottom-placed Shanghai Shenhua.
A second-half strike from Persik's Bertha Yuana condemned Shanghai to a shock defeat and their second of the competition after losing to Sydney on the opening day.
Kawasaki Frontale, runners-up to Urawa in the J-League, also came from behind but in very different circumstances as they needed an own goal to scrape a 1-1 draw with lowly Bangkok University.
Trailing Suriya Domtaisong's early opener, Frontale struggled to break down the visitors until Patiparn Phetphun put a cross past his own 'keeper 12 minutes from time.
Frontale top Group F with the same points as Chunnam Dragons, who also drew with Bangkok but got their campaign back on track on with a 2-0 win against Arema Malang on Wednesday.
Kim Tae-su and Sandro Cardoso were both on target in the second half to see off some determined resistance from the Indonesians.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two