Jeonbuk beat Vissel Kobe to reach Champions League semifinals

Football

Published: 23 Aug. 2022, 16:27

Jeonbuk beat Vissel Kobe to reach Champions League semifinals

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Modou Barrow, right, fights for the ball with Vissel Kobe's Yutaro Oda during an AFC Champions League quarterfinal match between Vissel Kobe and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in Saitama on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors came back from behind to beat Japanese club Vissel Kobe 3-1 on Monday to reach the semifinals of the AFC Champions League.

It wasn't until the second half that things started to heat up at Urawa Komaba Stadium in Japan on Monday, with both clubs getting off to a slow start in the first half.

In the first half, Jeonbuk held 55 percent of the ball, marking two shots, one on target, while Vissel Kobe took seven shots, two of which were on target. One of the shots on target came from Stefan Mugosa, who only started playing for Vissel Kobe this July after spending five years with K League club Incheon United.

It wasn't until the 64th minute that Vissel Kobe opened the scoring. Jeonbuk goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo blocked Yusei Ozaki's first shot on target, but fumbled and Koya Yuruki kicked the loose ball into the back of the net.

But even before excited home fans could get back to their seats, Modou Barrow of Jeonbuk picked up a pass from Gustavo Henrique Sousa and scored the equalizer.

That goal seemed to give the K League club the confidence they needed, as they quickly turned to hammering the Japanese goals and creating more chances in the second half.

Neither club was able to pull through at the end of regular time. But in the first half of extra time, Jeonbuk's Gustavo headed in a sharp cross sent over by Barrow to give the North Jeolla side the lead for the first time.

With 2-1 on the scoreboard in the dying seconds of the second half of extra time, Vissel Kobe goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa deserted his own goal in a desperate race up the pitch to try and keep the J League club in the game.

That move backfired when Jeonbuk cleared a Vissel Kobe corner in the 121st minute, leaving Moon Seon-min to race up the pitch toward an empty goal. With Moon's goal, the blew with the score at 3-1.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Moon Seon-min celebrates his goal during the AFC Champions League quarterfinal match between Vissel Kobe and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in Saitama on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Jeonbuk reached the quarterfinals after beating K League club Daegu FC on Aug. 18. The K League derby was almost as much of a nail-biter, with Jeonbuk scoring the winning goal in injury time after both teams stayed tied 1-1 for 120 minutes.

The North Jeolla side have a prestigious Champions League record, having qualified for the tournament 15 times and won it twice, in 2006 and 2016. They reached the quarterfinals last year, after beating Thai club BG Pathum United in the round of 16.

Jeonbuk advanced to the round of 16 this year after a fairly lackluster group campaign, winning only one leg of each of the three group stage match-ups to finish second in Group H — a 0-0 draw and a 3-2 win against Australian side Sydney FC, a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 win against Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos, and a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Vietnamese side Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

"It was a physically straining match but the victory makes up for it," said Jeonbuk captain Kim Jin-kyu on Monday.

"It was a hard path getting here to the semifinals and I think it's because we tried our best despite difficulties. I want to thank the Korean fans and K League that came all the way here to cheer for us. It is thanks to them that we were able to reach the semifinals."

The semifinal match will be held against Urawa Red Diamonds on Thursday in Saitama.

The Red Diamonds beat BG Pathum United 4-0 on Monday to reach the semifinals. The Red Diamonds have also won the AFC Champions League twice, in 2007 and 2017.

Both teams will be looking to move one step closer to their third regional title on Thursday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]