Beijing polishes off rusty Melbourne

DOHA－Beijing Guo'an has one foot in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League after a convincing 3-1 win against an ill-prepared Melbourne Victory side on Tuesday kept the Chinese club perfect in Doha's East Zone restart bubble, where it tops Group E.

Another Australian side, Perth Glory, also suffered an embarrassing defeat, going down 2-1 to Ulsan Hyundai after the South Koreans struck twice in the dying minutes of their Group F game.

Also in Group F, Shanghai Shenhua improved its chances of qualification with its second win in three matches, edging past FC Tokyo 1-0, courtesy of a late penalty.

But it was Bruno Genesio's Beijing outfit which sent out a strong warning to its rivals by following up its victory over FC Seoul last week with another impressive display in Qatari capital Doha, where the tournament's East Zone matches are being played in a bio-secure bubble after a nine-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing, which won its opener against Thailand's Chiangrai United back in February, looked a class above Melbourne, both in attack and defense. The 3-1 scoreline even flattered the Aussies, whose 78th-minute consolation goal resulted from a huge deflection off Kim Minjae after substitute Gianluca Ianucci's powerful long-range shot appeared to be headed straight into goalkeeper Hou Sen's arms.

Beijing allowed Melbourne only 40 percent possession and that worked hugely in its favor as they created chances galore at Al Sadd Sports Club.

Once again, Beijing's Brazilian imports proved pivotal, with Renato Augusto and A Lan－now a naturalized Chinese player－on target in the 22nd and 34th minutes. Wang Ziming's brilliant 74th-minute strike put the match out of Victory's reach.

Genesio, who has been in charge at Guo'an for almost 16 months, refused to get carried away with his team's 100 percent record.

"In the first half we played really well as we tried the high pressing we practiced before the game and were successful in keeping control," said the Frenchman.

"The only thing I am disappointed about is that we conceded one goal toward the end. We need to be more serious and cautious towards the end of the game."

Melbourne, which had opened its campaign in February by beating Chiangrai, remains winless since the restart. Coached by former Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean, Victory is now third in the standings and would need a herculean comeback to qualify for the knockout phase.

"For us, it's not the result we wanted," said Kean, whose side had no match practice for several months before heading to Doha.

"This was our very first match of any type, we did not even play any friendlies and came up against a Beijing side that has played a full season. We wanted to win and take points but we can't feel sorry for ourselves."

Also in Group E, FC Seoul crushed Chiangrai 5-0 with Yun Ju-tae netting a second-half brace. Seoul is second on six points, three behind Guo'an.

Shenhua soars

Meanwhile, at the Education City Stadium, Yu Hanchao converted a 74th-minute penalty to earn Shanghai Shenhua a 1-0 triumph over FC Tokyo.

Shenhua coach Choi Kang-hee made sweeping changes from the XI that lost to Ulsan Hyundai, with only three players retaining their places from that weekend defeat.

"FC Tokyo is a great team but today we really wanted to limit their opportunities," said Choi.

"Our players really overcame their difficulties of fitness and fatigue. They persisted from the first minute until the end and I thank them for that."

Shenhua has six points from three matches and is one point behind Ulsan, which left it late to defeat Perth Glory 2-1 in a thrilling Group F encounter later in the day.

Perth looked to be on its way to grabbing its first win of the campaign when Daniel Stynes netted in the 71st minute.

However, Kim In-sung equalized in the 89th before Brazilian Junior Negao grabbed the points for Ulsan in stoppage time.

AFP