After a two-month break from continental play, the first knockout matches of the AFC Champions League Two era are officially upon us.
Sydney FC played well to get here and earn their spot as runners-up of Group E, but to make it out of the Round of 16, they’ll have to play home and away against Bangkok United, the winners of Group G and reigning Thai FA Cup champions.
A new era of the UEFA Champions League is here, only on Stan Sport.
Facebook
Twitter
Whatsapp
Reddit
Email
Share
Given the break before this and the stakes ahead, let’s recap how these two sides navigated the group stage and go over how the Sky Blues can start their East Asian quarterfinal off right.
Sydney solid for stage silver
Where Macarthur and Central Coast Mariners tore their groups to shreds in last year’s AFC Cup, Sydney’s run through Group E was more of a medium-case scenario. Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima bested the Sky Blues in both meetings to take the top spot, but Sydney kept those fights close while cleaning house against also-rans Kaya-Iloilo and Eastern SC.
As a result, the Sky Blues posted a +11 goal differential, became East Asia’s highest-scoring team of the group stage, and easily clinched their first trip into continental knockout play since the 2016 Champions League.
If anyone deserves credit for the team’s explosive attack, it’s Anas Ouahim. The Moroccan international has been absolutely lethal in this tournament, peaking with an unreal hat trick and assist in Hong Kong to punch Sydney’s ticket a game early. In all, he’s racked up five goals and two assists, putting him one behind Tractor FC’s Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh for both the Golden Boot and the lead in total goal involvements.
Anas Ouahim celebrates with teammates (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The only real complaint is that he’s scored all five of those goals against the same team, a stat he’ll be eager to shake in these knockouts.
Other guns of note include Patryk Klimala, who’s racked up five goal involvements, including a brace against Kaya; Douglas Costa, who was a strong playmaker in the early group stage before injury woes kicked in; and young prospect Wataru Kamijo, whose assist marked the high point of a very intriguing shift off the bench in the final match of the group stage.
Of course, that goal differential wouldn’t be so dramatic if the defence hadn’t put in the work, and that was certainly the case here. In net, Andrew Redmayne and Harrison Devenish-Meares both played their roles well, offering Ufuk Talay some flexibility in who he selects this time.
Alexandar Popovic, who arrived on a three-month loan from Korean side Gwangju, proved so effective in that short time that the Sky Blues paid to keep him long-term. Rhyan Grant even rose above and beyond to establish himself as a potential two-way threat, playing out of his mind with a goal and assist in the tournament opener against Eastern.
One option they’ll be without, however, is Hayden Matthews, who captained the Sky Blues in the Group E finale against Kaya, but is now playing in the English Championship after commanding a $2.5 million transfer fee from Portsmouth.
More Football
-
Semi-final berth on the horizon for Sky Blues as clinical Klimala seals historic ACL Two win
-
‘Performance of my life’: Liverpool star’s insane display sets up ‘smash and grab’ – ‘he’s the best in the world’
-
A-League tipping: Round 22 – End is nigh for Mariners and Nix, City’s shot at six points
-
Amid Trump’s pro-Putin pivot, will the AFC face Russian loophole dilemma?
-
Arsenal make history with ‘statement win’, Madrid derby perfectly poised, Villa heading into quarters
Football
Meet Bangkok United, Group G’s conquering angels
Founded in the 1980s as a university side, Bangkok United Football Club now stand as one of Thailand’s top professional teams and the biggest threat to Buriram United’s stranglehold over Thai League 1. After getting their first continental match victories in last year’s Champions League, the Angels punched their ticket back to Asia last June by winning their first ever Thai FA Cup on penalties.
Unfortunately for BUFC, Shandong Taishan won the subsequent qualifier, booting Bangkok out of the Elite and into ACL Two, but the Thai Leaguers have made the most of it. After shellacking all three opponents at home and handling much more competitive contests on the road, the Angels finished 4-1-1, beating reigning Vietnamese league champions Nam Ðịnh on the final matchday to take the Group G crown.
Without a doubt, Bangkok’s deadliest sharpshooter is Omani forward Muhsen Al Ghassani. Not only did he score a team-leading four goals in the group stage, including a brace in the opener against Singapore’s Tampines Rovers, he knows firsthand at this level how to win at this level.
Al Ghassani sank the final dagger for Al Seeb as they won the 2022 AFC Cup, and if the Angels go all the way, he’ll lift Asia’s secondary trophy for the second time in three editions. Right alongside him is Dutch-born Curaçaoan striker Richairo Živković, whose experience playing for historic European sides Ajax and Sheffield United has translated to three goals and two assists.
Not far behind those two is Lebanese attacking midfielder Basser Jradi, who’s scored in some crucial situations—his goal against Lee Man secured Bangkok’s only road win of the group stage, while another against Nam Ðịnh ultimately clinched Group G.
Joining Jradi in the midfield, we find Weerathep Pomphan, who’s proved an adept playmaker for club and country, as he notched two assists for Thailand on their way to last month’s ASEAN Championship final.
On the back line, the man to beat is centre-back Everton Gonçalves, a seven-year Angel who was absolutely lights-out in their recent comeback to force a draw against Rayong. If Sydney’s attack gets past him, they’ll have to deal with keeper Patiwat Khammai, who, like Pomphan, played a major role in the War Elephants’ ASEAN Championship final run.
The keys to Sydney controlling their own skies
Given the way the Sky Blues got all their wins in the group stage, the natural instinct will be to get the guns out and start slinging. Ouahim and Klimala are the obvious candidates to do it, given their stats in Group E, but in the interlude between continental stages, Joe Lolley has gone ballistic in the best way.
Since Christmas, the Englishman has scored seven goals, made three assists, put up a hat trick against Perth Glory, and rocketed to the front of the line for this year’s A-League Golden Boot. Given that run of form, it might be worth letting the attack run through him to try and unleash his domestic dominance on this continental stage.
Meanwhile, when Sydney are defending, Bangkok’s concentrated scoring wealth could be ripe to exploit. Although nine different Angels notched an assist over the course of the group stage, only five scored a goal, and 10 of the 12 goals came from either Živković, Jradi, or Al Ghassani.
By denying that trio clear shots and the rest of the line-up to pick up the slack, Sydney can significantly dull the Angels’ blades and create that much more breathing room for themselves if they find themselves similarly impaired at the other end of the pitch.
However Sydney tackle this, the important thing is to get the upper hand now while they’re still on their own soil. Bangkok have only scored once on the road in this competition, with the Angels instead relying on strong defence to get through those days. If Sydney can keep their attack in high gear and blow the doors off this thing, they’ll make things much easier for themselves ahead of next week’s road leg in Thailand.