Nam Tae-hee (33, Yokohama) had the first laugh. Yokohama Marinos (JPN) pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind victory to take the lead.
Yokohama Marinos (Japan) defeated Al Ain (UAE) 2-1 in the first leg of the 2023-2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) Final at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The hosts started in a 4-3-3 formation. Jose Eubert-Andersson Lopez-Yann Mateus, Tae-Hee Nam-Takuya Kida-Asahi Uenaka, Katsuya Nagato-Eduardo, Shinnosuke Hatanaka-Ken Matsubara, and Pope William started in the center.
Al Ain countered with a 4-3-3 formation. Sufian Rahimi-Abdul Traore-Kaku, Mohamed Abbas-Park Yong-Woo-Matthias Palacios, Bandar Al-Ahbabi-Khalid Al-Hashemi-Kuameh Othon-Yahya Nader and Khalid Eissa lined up in the middle.
Al Ain opened the scoring on the counterattack. In the 12th minute, Park Yong-woo flicked on a header and Rahimi used his pace to sprint into the backfield. Rahimi’s shot was saved by the keeper, but Abbas rattled the net as he calmly slotted the bouncing ball home.
Yokohama swallowed their disappointment.
In the 25th minute, Uenaka cut off a pass from high up the pitch and unleashed a right-footed curling shot that was blocked by the keeper. From the ensuing corner, Nagato’s left-footed effort was deflected by a defender and headed into the net, 카지노사이트 but the ball was caught by the downed keeper.
Al Ain looked set to add to their lead in the 30th minute when Palacios slipped behind the defense and fired a shot from the right side of the box. The ball hit the keeper’s hand and went between his legs, but video assistant referee (VAR) ruled it offside.
Needing a goal, Yokohama pushed forward, but couldn’t find the back of the net. In the 34th minute, Mateusz’s left-footed curling kick hit the crossbar after bouncing high off the goalkeeper’s hand. In first-half stoppage time, Nam Tae-hee missed a perfect scoring opportunity, but was ruled offside. The first half ended with Al Ain leading 1-0.
The second half continued in a similar fashion.
Yokohama dominated possession and took control of the game, while Al Ain, not in a hurry, focused on defense and looked for counterattack opportunities.
Yokohama took advantage to level the game. In the 27th minute, Mateus picked up the ball on the right, beat his defender and curled in a cross with his left foot. Uenaka leapt high and finished with his head to equalize.
Yokohama fought back. In the 39th minute, Ryo Miyauchi attempted a volley and the ball was headed in front of goal. The onrushing Gota Watanabe put his foot to it and scored the game-winning goal. The goal was initially ruled offside, but after VAR, the goal was upheld. No more goals were scored, and Yokohama were the winners of a hard-fought match.