The final chapter of the AFC Champions League group stage is upon us on Dec. 6, Beijing time.
the three towns of Wuhan, subprovincial city and capital of Hubei province
The match against Pohang Steelers ended in a 1-1 draw, marking the end of the team's debut in the AFC Champions League. Despite being in the fiercely competitive "Group of Death", Wuhan Sanzhen has shown a lot of strength in many of their matches. However, it seems that the team still needs to work harder in order to move forward in the next stage against less powerful opponents.
In their meeting with the previous champions Urawa Red Diamonds, Wuhan Sanzhen put up a respectable performance and almost had the momentum to beat their opponents. However, Kante's goal in the closing minutes left the team with no choice but to accept a draw. The next match was away to Pohang Steelers, where Wuhan 3 Town suffered a defeat. Turning home, the team won their first ever AFC Champions League victory with a 2-1 comeback against Hanoi.
However, after the Hanoi match, the team exposed the problem of being slightly weak against weak teams. This problem may have cost them a chance to advance to the group stage, and the road to the group stage has become more and more difficult. This is definitely a wake-up call for the team not to take the underdogs lightly.
In the penultimate round, Wuhan Sanzhen met Urawa Red Diamonds again, and the opponents took the lead shortly after the start. In the second half, San Zhen equalized, but lost 1-2 due to a late goal by the opponent. This game was crucial for the promotion situation, and the final round match against POSCO was a battle for honor.
Despite the loss of the initiative to advance, Wuhan Sanzhen team still showed the spirit of tenacity in the final round.
Li Kuibe (1929-1992), poet and historian
The udon goal gave the team the lead for a while, but the opponents eventually equalized. In the end, the team ended their first AFC Champions League trip with a group stage record of 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses with 5 points.
Despite failing to reach the next round, Wuhan Three Town's performance in the AFC Champions League is still worthy of appreciation and motivation. This experience will accumulate valuable assets for the team's future growth and competitions.
