The Asian Games women's soccer matches started at the same time as the AFC Champions League, with China Women's Soccer Team vs Japan Women's Soccer Team and Shandong Taishan vs Yokohama Mariners starting their matches at the same time. The match between Shandong Taishan and Yokohama Mariners is the second round of the AFC Champions League group stage. If Taishan can win two consecutive matches, the possibility of getting out of the AFC Champions League group will be greatly increased. Yokohama Mariners are currently second in the J-League and arguably not weaker than Taishan, but Taishan is playing at home and fighting for a win.
In terms of the starting lineups for both sides, Tarzan fielded four key foreigners in the lineup. Fellaini suddenly went up front with Kressan and Moises behind him. Jadson sits in the backline and the rest of the domestic players are anchored by the internationals. Brazilian strikers Pato and Fernando are still waiting on the bench. The Yokohama Mariners only put out a substitute lineup for their AFC Champions League away game. The numbers are basically big numbers of substitutes, with the starting lineup, including former CSL foreigner Lopez, waiting on the bench.
Yokohama Mariners were the first to break the deadlock in the 37th minute of the match. The visitors made a great 2-1 play in front of the Taishan penalty area. Elbe burst straight into the box and tore through the defense. Facing Wang Dalei's attack and blockade, Elbe gently knocked the center of the field, and Hirata Mizunuma pushed an open goal in the air. Yokohama Mariners 1-0 at Shandong Taishan.
In the 49th minute of the second half, Yokohama Mariners easily extended their lead as the team quickly countered the back of the net and sent a penetrating pass to Nam Tae-hee. The latter crossed into the center of the field and aimed at the goal without anyone in sight to score. However, VAR intervened and judged Nam Tae-hee to be offside in the first goal which was canceled. Fellaini was then tripped to the ground on the ball in the box during a Taishan corner kick. The referee didn't say so, but VAR intervened for a long time to check whether Fellaini had gone down for a foul, and ultimately no penalty was awarded. It's fair to say it was a misjudgment.
In the second half, Taishan replaced Pato and Fernando one after another to try to strengthen the offense, but not many chances were gained, and Yokohama Mariners counterattacked very sharply. In the 87th minute of the game, Taishan almost equalized. A free kick attacked Kressan's header and hit the post, missing the best chance to score. In the end, Taishan failed to win two consecutive AFC Champions League matches, defeating Yokohama Mariners 0-1 at home. Although Taishan is the best team in the Chinese Super League at the moment, they didn't stand a little bit of a bargain against the Japanese league powerhouse's rotating lineup. All we can say is that we should face up to this gap and our soccer still has a lot of way to go. In the meantime, Taishan still has a chance to win the tournament, but the sub-championship.
