Matchday Six - Group G: Guangzhou Evergrande FC beat Cerezo Osaka to advance unbeaten

With the top three teams in Group G – Guangzhou Evergrande, Cerezo Osaka and Buriram United – all still in with a chance of progressing heading into the final matches, the home side knew a win would guarantee their progression and they raced out of the blocks in search for an early goal, with Nemanja Gudelj coming close in just the second minute.

Their high-octane start was rewarded in the sixth minute when Huang Bowen fired in the opener to the delight of the packed stands at the Tianhe Stadium.

Fabio Cannavaro’s side couldn’t hang on to their lead for long, however, and just three minutes later the raucous home crowd was silenced when Takaki Fukumitsu broke the offside trap and rounded Zeng Cheng to make it 1-1.

Undeterred Guangzhou Evergrande continued to attack and almost regained their lead, but were denied by some heroic defending, with Kakeru Funaki blocking Zheng Long’s goal-bound effort after 25 minutes.