Daegu Clinch Final Last-16 Spot As Kitchee Lose Out

Doha, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jul, 2021 ) :Daegu FC clinched the last round-of-16 spot in the Asian Champions League after a 4-0 rout of United City helped them finish among the three best group runners up on Sunday.

The South Koreans struck three times in the second half in Tashkent for their fourth victory in Group I to take their tally to 12 points and make the last 16 stage for the first time in their history.

Daegu and Kitchee were in contention for the last spot but the Hong Kong club, who completed their group stage matches earlier, lost out after they were stuck on 11 points.

United City put on a gritty display for more than half an hour but the Filipinos caved in to the pressure in the 37th minute with Tsubasa Nishi firing Daegu ahead.

The midfielder got past the defence after being put through by Cesinha in the 37th minute and slotted past goalkeeper Anthony Pinthus with ease.

Deagu consolidated just three minutes after the break as Lee Keun-ho found the net from a smart headed pass by Jo Jin-woo.

The 37-year-old Lee turned provider 10 minutes later and Brazilian Edgar Silva blasted home from 20 yards to effectively put the match beyond United City's reach.

Daegu, who had thrashed United City 7-0 earlier in the competition, finished off the match in style in the 73rd minute after another great pass from Cesinha helped Jeong Chi-in add to the tally.

Meanwhile Kawasaki Frontale swept Group I with six straight wins after they thrashed Beijing Guoan 4-0 in their last match on Sunday.

Kei Chinen and Kazuka Kozuka scored a goal each in the first half while Ten Miyagi made it 3-0 early after the break.

An own goal by Leng Jixuan in the 69th minute confirmed Beijing Guoan'ss last-place finish with just one point from five matches.

Elsewhere, goals from Kim Min-jun and Valeri Qazaishvili helped holders Ulsan Hyundai also complete a clean sweep of Group F as they beat Thailand's BG Pathum United 2-0 in Thanyaburi.

Both sides had progressed to the next phase but Pathum United, the only side from Southeast Asia to make the cut, were hoping to derail Ulsan's winning streak.

But Ulsan fielded a strong side and went ahead in the 37th minute through the 21-year-old midfielder Kim, who took advantage of a pass from Lukas Hinterseer to score past goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom.

Ulsan confirmed their three points through Georgian Qazaishvili who scored from a Lee Myung-jae cross in the 87th minute as the holders took their record-breaking streak in the tournament to 15.

They had won the title last year with a dazzling run of nine consecutive victories in Qatar.

Also in group F, Vietnam's Viettel edged the Philippines' Kaya 1-0 to finish third with six points with Brazilian Caique netting the winner in the 57th minute.

It was a disappointing end to Kaya's campaign as they suffered their sixth defeat in as many matches on their debut in the tournament.

The round of 16 will be played in September.