DEFENDING CHAMPIONS MAKE STATEMENT OF INTENT

Defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande all but booked their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League following a 5-1 thrashing of Cerezo Osaka in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie, while former winners Al Hilal, Al Ain, Pohang Steelers and Al Ittihad along with last year’s finalist FC Seoul and J.League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima will take slender leads into next week’s decisive second legs.

Chinese Super champions Guangzhou were at their dominant best at Osaka Nagai Stadium on Tuesday as two goals each from Brazilian duo Elkeson and Muriqui put Marcello Lippi’s side in command.

And with Ariajasuru Hasegawa’s solitary first half strike all Cerezo had to show for their efforts, Guangzhou are clear favourites to secure a third consecutive appearance in the quarter-finals ahead of next week’s second leg in Southern China.

“This is a delightful win for us, even though we were not expecting to win by such a large margin,” said Lippi.

“Our team is getting back to find the good conditions we had last year, and I am expecting that we can take the coming games with good confidence.”

Two-time Asian Club Championship winners Al Hilal also have the upper hand over Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor after Salem Al Dawsari scored the only goal at Pakhtakor Stadium on Wednesday.

Despite dominating possession, Bunyodkor lacked a cutting edge and the two-time semi-finalists now need to win the second leg in Riyadh in order to progress to the quarter-finals.

A day earlier, Asamoah Gyan’s eighth goal of the tournament and a strike from Omar Abdulrahman had handed inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain a 2-1 win over fellow Emirati side Al Jazira.

Musallem Fayez was able to pull a goal back for Al Jazira early in the second half, but Zlatko Dalic’s Al Ain were able to maintain the slender advantage.

“The job is not done yet and we will play a better match in the second leg,” said Dalic.

“However, we should play with a cautious approach as well because Al Jazira are a strong team and should not be underestimated.”

Also on Tuesday, three-time Asian champions Pohang edged closer to a place in the quarter-finals for the sixth time after recording a 2-1 come-from-behind win at the home of fellow Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors thanks to goals from Son Jun-ho and Go Moo-yul.

Meanwhile in meeting between two sides from Saudi Arabia in the Round of 16, Mukhtar Fallatah headed in a late winner as two-time champions Al Ittihad claimed a narrow advantage against Al Shabab following a 1-0 win at King Abdulaziz Sport City.

And the day after Cerezo’s heavy defeat at the hands of Guangzhou, there were mixed fortunes for the two other J.League representatives in the last 16.

Kawasaki Frontale were rocked by a stoppage time strike from Yun Il-Lok as 2013 finalists FC Seoul recorded 3-2 comeback win in Japan, while Naoki Ishihara scored twice as Hiroshima posted a 3-1 victory over Australia’s Western Sydney Wanderers.

And finally, the meeting between Qatar’s Al Sadd and Iran champions Foolad Khouzestan remains tantalisingly poised following a goalless draw in the first leg in Doha on Wednesday

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