Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Osaka: Coach Choi Yong-soo remained positive despite seeing former finalists FC Seoul miss out on a fourth AFC Champions League quarter-final appearance in five years after Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat by Japanese champions Gamba Osaka resulted in a 6-2 aggregate defeat in the Round of 16 for the K-:League Classic side.
Trailing 3-1 from last week’s first leg at home, 2013 finalists FC Seoul fell further behind after just 16 minutes of the return fixture at Expo ’70 Stadium as Brazilian Patric opened the scoring for Group F winners Gamba after just 16 minutes before Shu Kurata added a second on the stroke of half-time after Mauricio Molina had missed a penalty for the visitors.
First leg goalscorer Yun Ju-tae was able to score twice in the second half for Group H runners-up FC Seoul, but with Brazilian substitute Lins also on target for Gamba, Choi’s side suffered their earliest exit in five AFC Champions League appearances.
Match report: Gamba Osaka 3-2 FC Seoul (6-3 agg)
“After we gave up the first goal in the first half, we couldn’t really find the momentum. Missing the penalty at the crucial moment did affect us a lot,” said FC Seoul coach Choi.
“This is the end of our ACL this year, but our players worked so hard and I’d like to praise them for that.
“I tried to do various things, but things didn’t work out as much as I had wanted. The loss in the first leg and many goals given away turned the burden on our players.”
FC Seoul, who reached the semi-finals last year and quarter-finals in 2009 and 2011 while also losing the 2013 final to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande, must now turn their attention to the domestic campaign with Choi’s side currently eighth in the K-League Classic table.
“Though we lost in the tournament, Yun Ju-tae scored three goals over the two legs, and I can give a credit to him for that. He has shown his talents in the ACL, but not in the domestic league,” added Choi.
“Defence is important in any matches, and the team with high defending ability can advance in the tournament.
“On top of that, there is a turning point to decide the winners and the losers in a big game like this, and you need a player who can show his high ability in such crucial moments.”
Photo: WSG