Jasir Asani of Gwangju FC (L) battles Matheus Thuler of Vissel Kobe for the ball during the first leg of the round of 16 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite at Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium in Kobe, Japan, on March 5, 2025, in this photo captured on the AFC’s website. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Gwangju FC have dropped their opening match of the knockout stage at the top Asian club football tournament, digging themselves a hole ahead of a return leg at home next week.
Gwangju lost to the Japanese side Vissel Kobe 2-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite at Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium in Kobe, Japan, on Wednesday.
Vissel Kobe scored both of their goals in the first half, with Yuya Osako opening the scoring in the 20th minute and Haruya Ide, who’d set up the first goal, adding to his team’s lead nine minutes later.
Gwangju arethe lone K League club to have made it out of the league phase at the revamped AFC tournament. During that early stage, Gwangju had also suffered a 2-0 loss against Vissel Kobe in November last year, and they failed to avenge that defeat this week.
The second leg is at Gwangju World Cup Stadium in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul, at 7 p.m. next Wednesday.
After the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final will all be played in single matches.
Gwangju had a 52-48 edge in ball possession but failed to put any of their 10 shot attempts on target.
(Yonhap)
