Uruguayan star Diego Forlan struck a precious winner to take his new club Cerezo Osaka into the AFC Champions League round-of-16 at the expense of China’s Shandong Luneng on Wednesday.
Forlan, who turns 35 next month, but is expected to figure at this year’s World Cup finals, grabbed the decisive goal shortly after halftime as Cerezo won their final group game 2-1 to reach the knockout stages.
It was Forlan’s most telling contribution since the former Manchester United, Inter, Atletico Madrid and Internacional striker arrived in January on reported record wages of US$5.8 million a year.
Photo: AFP
Forlan has insisted his move to Japan will not hurt his chances of World Cup selection and he gave Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez a reminder of his qualities with his second AFC Champions League goal.
Brazilian forward Vagner Love had put Shandong ahead from the penalty spot in the first half, but the Japanese visitors turned the tables with two goals within three minutes of the restart.
Yoichiro Kakitani put Cerezo level, before Forlan, receiving a cross from the left, had space on the edge of the penalty area to thump home an emphatic finish and secure their only away win in Group E.
Cerezo’s reward is a round-of-16 tie against Marcello Lippi’s defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande, who booked their place in the knockout stages on Tuesday.
Pohang Steelers, who topped Group E and frustrated Thailand’s Buriram United 0-0 on Wednesday, play fellow South Korean former winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the next round.
Seoul beat Beijing Guoan 2-1 to set up a clash with Kawasaki Frontale, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima edged 10-man Central Coast Mariners 1-0 and next face Western Sydney Wanderers.
In the South Korean capital, man-of-the-match Kang Seung-jo put Seoul ahead two minutes before the break and Yoon Ju-tae doubled their advantage on 56 minutes.
Beijing’s Yu Yang pulled one back after a goalmouth scramble with two minutes remaining, but Seoul held on to finish top of Group F with three wins from six games.
They were joined by Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who reached the knockout stages for the first time after Tsukasa Shiotani’s free-kick on 72 minutes gave them a narrow win over Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.
The Australian side had Brent Griffiths sent off for a foul on Naoki Ishihara midway through the second half, before Shiotani’s dead-ball kick was deflected into the Mariners’ net.
Seoul and Sanfrecce’s wins settled a tight Group F, in which all four teams had been within just two points of each other ahead of the final games.
In Group E, already qualified Pohang Steelers repelled waves of attacks from Buriram United, who failed in their attempt to reach the round-of-16 for the second year running.
The 2008-2009 champions had the best chances when, in the second half, Yoon Jun-sung’s header was brilliantly tipped onto the bar and Moon Chang-jin had a goal ruled out for offside.
In West Asia, Qatari side El Jaish SC crashed out in unfortunate fashion after a last-minute goal by Sardor Rashidov gave Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor PFK a 2-1 win in Doha.
El Jaish needed only a draw to become the second team to qualify from Group B, but Rashidov’s strike off a poor clearance saw the Uzbek side advance as they had scored seven goals against their Qatari rivals’ six after both teams were locked on eight points with a zero goal-difference.
Earlier, Mohammed Muntari had scored a 52nd-minute equalizer for El Jaish after Sergiy Symonenko had put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute.
Iran’s Foolad Khuzestan, who had already qualified, thrashed Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fateh SC 5-1, thanks to a hat-trick by Luciano Chimba.
In Group A, Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates took the second spot and made the round-of-16 despite a 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab, who had already qualified, while Iran’s Esteghlal defeated bottom side Al Rayyan of Qatar 3-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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