Kawasaki dominates Al-Nassr and eliminates Cristiano Ronaldo from the Asian Champions League
With assistance from Erison, ex-Botafogo, the Japanese team shines with Brazilian protagonism and will face Al-Ahli in the final
JAPANESE TOUR
Kawasaki Frontale gave Al-Nassr no space and secured a place in the Asian Champions League final on Wednesday. At King Abdullah Sports City, Ito, Ozeki and Ienaga scored for the Japanese club, while Mané and Durán managed to reduce the deficit with deflections in the defense. The defeat ends Cristiano Ronaldo’s team’s dream of winning the trophy, while ensuring Kawasaki’s best run in the tournament. The final will be against Al-Ahli.
WITH A BRAZILIAN FLAVOR
Two Brazilian players were key players in Kawasaki Frontale’s victory over Al-Nassr: Marcinho and Erison. The former is a regular in the Japanese club’s midfield and was responsible for organizing the team’s pressure against the opponent. In fact, Marcinho was the one who created the rebound that led to Ito’s beautiful shot in the first half. Kawasaki were already superior, but improved after the break with the introduction of Erison. The former Botafogo player posed a threat from the corners and made life difficult for the Saudi defenders. He also created a great individual play before passing the ball to Ienaga to score Frontale’s last goal of the game.
FINAL DEFINED
Kawasaki Frontale will face Al-Ahli in the Asian Champions League final. The grand final will be this Saturday, at 1:30 pm (Brasília time), at King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah. This is the first time that the Japanese team has reached this stage of the competition, as the furthest they have reached was in the quarterfinals.
HOW WAS THE GAME?
Kawasaki needed just nine minutes to show that they would give the favorites a hard time. Ito picked up the rebound from a cross by Marcinho and fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area. The ball went into Bento’s goal, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. Al-Nassr was lucky to equalize. In the 26th minute, Mané received the ball from the left and shot towards goal from inside the area. The shot deflected off defender Maruyama and deceived the goalkeeper. The Japanese team took the lead again in the 39th minute, when Ito took advantage of a mistake by the defense, fought for the ball and carried it into the area. Bento saved the midfielder’s shot, but Ozeki fired the rebound into the goal.
Erison helped extend the lead in the 30th minute. The Brazilian took the ball to the baseline, held it and dribbled past Laporte. He drew the marker and passed it to the middle of the area, where Ienaga came from behind and shot into the empty net. Al-Nassr went for broke in the final stretch. In the 41st minute, Yahya shot from outside the area, the ball deflected off Maruyama and went into the back of the net. In the final minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo had three great chances in a row: one from a free kick, a long shot and another from a throw-in, but they all wasted.
