10-man Evergrande draw with Bluewings, SIPG reach ACL last 16

 

Guangzhou Evergrande of China drew with the Suwon Bluewings 1-1 in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday, while Shanghai SIPG lost to Sydney FC 4-0 but still advanced thanks to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors's defeat.

Facing Evergrande in Group G, Lim Sang-Hyub broke the deadlock for Bluewings from a rebound in the 53rd minute. It took until the 82nd minute for Evergrande to equalize with Wei Shihao crisply scoring a counterattack goal.

However, the Chinese powerhouses had to play with 10 men from two minutes later while midfielder Zhong Yihao was sent off for a dangerous foul on Kim Tae Hwan.

They finished the game with a 1-1 draw after naturalized Fernando wasted a golden opportunity, which means they need to put their hope of qualifying to the final round result between Vissel Kobe and the Bluewings.

Elsewhere in Group H, Theerathon Bunmathan beat Yokohama. Marinos in the lead over Jeonbuk of South Korea at 17 minutes with a curling shot.

The Japanese side was 2-0 up on 50 minutes thanks to Teruhito Nakagawa sending a defense-splitting pass to Brazilian Junior, who tucked the ball into the net.

Despite Brazilian Gustavo converting a penalty for Jeonbuk from Thiago Martins's handball, Teruhito Nakagawa then added a third Yokohama goal on 71 minutes. Jeonbuk defender Song Beom-Keun made an unfortunate mistake with an own goal to give Yokohama a 4-1 win.

Thanks to Jeonbuk's defeat, SIPG are ensured a promotion spot before playing Sydney FC.

The Australian club put on a solid display while Alex Wilkinson made a powerful header into the bottom left corner in the 28th minute. Five minutes later, SIPG's poor defense gave Luke Brattan the chance to score a second Sydney goal.

SIPG were completely overwhelmed in the second half. Trent Buhagiar sealed an open goal after SIPG keeper Chen Wei failed to clean the ball in the 57th minute. The 22-year-old striker then put the game to bed three minutes later when he fired another into the net.