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| Suwon Samsung Bluewings' players celebrate a 2-0 victory over Vissel Kobe in their Group G match at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Dec. 4. AFP-Yonhap |
Suwon Samsung Bluewings did exactly what they had to do, sneaking into the round of 16 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Vissel Kobe in Group G, Friday night.
Kim Gun-hee and Lim Sang-hyub each scored for Suwon at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, where the K League 1 club had to win by at least two goals to advance to the knockout stage.
Vissel Kobe had already secured the top spot in Group G prior to the match. Guangzhou Evergrande had finished their group play with five points, and Suwon entered Friday sitting at two points. A win would also get them to five points, but since Guanghzhou had the advantage in goal difference, zero to Suwon's minus-1, Suwon had to erase that with a two-goal victory.
The match was scoreless in the first half, but Kim jolted life back into Suwon with a goal five minutes into the second. Lim gave his team the second goal they needed in the 68th minute, and they held on for the win.
Suwon are one of two K League 1 clubs in the knockouts. In the round of 16 they'll take on Yokohama F. Marinos, Monday, in Khalifa International Stadium at 5 p.m. (local time ― 11 p.m. KST).
Ulsan Hyundai FC, the other South Korean side, will face Melbourne Victory at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Sunday, also at 5 p.m. (local time).
The last South Korean champions of the Asian tournament were Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2016. No K League club has even reached the final since.
The tournament kicked off in February but ground to a halt in early March because of the COVID-19 outbreak. For teams in the East Zone ― covering South Korea, Australia, China and Japan, among others ― the group stage resumed in November, with all matches being played in Qatar. The Middle East country will host all the remaining knockout matches, and the championship final, Dec. 19. (Yonhap)
