Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jinan: Shandong Luneng will take on 2008 ACL finalists Adelaide United in the playoffs for the Group Stage of this year’s edition of Asia’s premier club competition following a 6-0 victory over Mohun Bagan in Tuesday’s Preliminary Stage 2 encounter at the Jinan Olympic Centre.
Mohun Bagan had earned the right to face the five-time Chinese FA Cup winners in the next phase of the qualifiers after defeating Tampines Rovers 3-1 in the only Preliminary Stage 1 fixture but the Mariners found Shandong a step up in quality from the Singaporean side as a Yang Xu double and goals from Walter Montillo, Diego Tardelli, Zheng Zheng, and Wang Yongpo secured one-sided win for the home side.
Despite the absence of 2015 Chinese Super League (CSL) top scorer Aloisi, Shandong still had too much in their arsenal for Mohun Bagan and took a 24th-minute lead when Yang cushioned a cross from the right into the path of former Argentina international Montillo, who curled an exquisite left-foot shot past Mariners keeper Debjit Majumber.
The 2014/15 I-League Goalkeeper of the Season was beaten for a second time in the first half when Diego Tardelli collected a pass from Wang and fired a powerful low shot into the Mariners net to give the home side a two-goal cushion five minutes before the interval.
The former Brazil international, who featured in six 2012 AFC Champions League matches during a spell in Qatar with Al Gharafa, went from scorer to provider as Shandong went 3-0 up in the 55th-minute, laying the ball into the path of Yang who scored with almost a carbon copy of Montillo’s opener, with the 28-year-old curling the ball home with his right instead of the left.
Yang scored his second and Shndong’s fourth 14 minutes later with a powerful downward header following Zhao Mingjian’s cross from the right before Zheng Zheng got his name on the scoresheet with 14 minutes left to play.
But Mohun’s misery didn’t end there and in the 88th minute, after a buccaneering run from inside his own half, Liu Binbin whipped the ball across the area where Wang applied the finishing touch as the 2012 CSL Top Scorer skilfully volleyed in number six from near the penalty spot to seal Shandong’s emphatic win in style.
Shandong and Adelaide United will go head-to-head at the Hindmarsh Stadium on February 9 with a place in Group F of the 2016 AFC Champions League alongside Sanfrecce Hiroshima, 2013 ACL finalists FC Seoul, and Thailand quadruple winners Buriram United up for grabs.