Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Osaka: Cerezo Osaka held two-time champions Guangzhou Evergrande to a 0-0 draw in their AFC Champions League Group G encounter on Wednesday.
Played at the Nagai Stadium, both sides had chances in the first half with Guangzhou Evergrande’s Brazilian striker Alan spurning a glorious chance after 18 minutes, before Cerezo Osaka custodian Kim Jin-hyeon saved well from Gao Lin’s effort midway through the half.
The home side twice put the ball in the back of the net in the second half, but both were ruled out, firstly due to the offside flag and secondly after the ball travelled out from a corner.
Fabio Cannavaro’s men appealed loudly when it looked like Jin-hyeon had carried the ball over the line after saving Kim Young-gwon’s free-kick, but the referee turned away their appeals.
The final chance of the game fell the way of the home side, but goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo made a fantastic save to deny the headed effort from substitute Kenyu Sugimoto.