AFC Champions League

So, let’s start by taking a quick look back to reflect on which players have been racking up the points on your Fantasy team and the ones you should have in your squad going forward.

But before we get to all that, don’t forget you can still take part at https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league_elite/fantasy.html. It’s free, it’s fun and it’s for all Asian football fans!

With the AFC's club competitions transitioning to a new format from the 2024/25 season, it was only fitting that the inaugural winners brought the curtains down on the AFC Champions League by waltzing their way to a second title.

The 54-year-old takes over as the long-term replacement for Harry Kewell, who led the club to the final of the AFC Champions League™ 2023/24 but left in July due to a run of poor domestic form.

After six Matchdays of the current League Stage, the ACL Elite has witnessed an average attendance of 11,966, which exceeds official figures from the 2022 and 2023/24 editions of its predecessor, the AFC Champions League™. This mark is 17% higher than the average of 10,194 from the first six Matchdays in the 2023/24 Group Stage.

Hasebe, who was named the J.League’s Manager of the Year for 2023, takes over after Oniki ended a hugely successful eight-year spell with the club at the conclusion of the 2024 J1 League season to join Kashima Antlers ahead of next season.

With the tournament to only resume in February, the-AFC.com listens to what was said by the teams after another pulsating round of matches.

There is, however, still everything to play for in the East Zone following the conclusion of Matchday Six, with some teams on the verge on confirming their spots.

Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at some interesting facts and figures from the matches that thrilled the continent this past week.

The Ulsan head coach knew, given their fragility after a poor run on the continental stage, the enormity of the task his side faced after Shenhua took the lead through Andre Luis in the 23rd minute.

Marcinho set the tone with his strike in the third minute as the J1 League side led from start to finish, with further goals from Yuki Yamamoto, Jesiel and Shin Yamada moving Frontale within touching distance of the knockout stage.

The Korea Republic champions picked up their first points of the campaign as Yago Carillo and Kang Min-woo scored in the 58th and 66th minutes respectively to cancel out Andre Luis’ 23rd minute opener for the home side.

The result moves Ulsan off the bottom of the standings and, with two games remaining in the league phase, the two-time champions can still qualify for the last 16. Shenhua, meanwhile, remain on seven points and just outside the eight qualification places.

The club from Saudi Arabia advanced from the play-offs with a 1-0 win over Tajikistan's Istiklol FC on Tuesday, with Youcef Belaïli converting a penalty in stoppage time to take Al Ahli into the group stage for the sixth consecutive year.

The Islamic Republic of Iran club prevailed 5-4 on penalties against Qatar’s Al Sailiya FC after 120 minutes saw the play-off tie end in a 0-0 draw at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Goalkeeper Mahdi Rahmati was the hero for Shahr Khodro, producing a brilliant shootout save to deny countryman Karim Ansarifard before Saeid Sadeghi struck the decisive blow to take his team through.

The 31-year-old spoke exclusively to the-AFC.com following the play-off tie at Seoul World Cup Stadium and he reflected on the match, the importance of playing in the AFC Champions League, his favourite memories from the competition so far, and his hopes for 2020.

.

The former Islamic Republic of Iran national team forward saw Esteghlal score five goals against their hosts at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium to book their place in the group stage of the competition for the fourth consecutive year.

In the meantime, the AFC will closely monitor the situation before deciding further on the home matches of Chinese clubs on MD4, 5 and 6.

The decision, which was also made in conjunction with the competing clubs from the respective groups, is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of all participating players and teams in view of the current coronavirus outbreak in the People’s Republic of China.

Despite Saeed Juma’s second-half strike ultimately deciding the tie, Al Ain dominated against the Uzbekistan club at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

Having weathered a Kashima storm in the first half, Melbourne netted the tie's only goal on 54 minutes when Nabbout was on hand to fire home a deflected effort past Kwoun Sun-tae.

Custodian Lawrence Thomas then put on a goalkeeping clinic to deny the 2018 champions as the A-League side held out for a famous victory.

Istiklol had qualified to the play-off stage after stunning PFC Lokomotiv 1-0 in Tashkent in the Preliminary Round 2, while Al Ahli qualified as fourth placed in the 2018-19 Saudi Pro League.