The Yokohama Mariners and Bangkok United faced off in an exceptionally close match in the passionate AFC Champions League group stage, with the Yokohama Mariners ultimately advancing with a narrow 1-0 advantage in a thrilling 3-2 aggregate scoreline matchup. The two teams were in Groups G and F, with Yokohama Mariners joining Shandong Taishan at the top of Group G, while Bangkok United topped Group F by overpowering Jeonbuk Hyundai to advance to the top of the group. Yokohama Mariners took a two-goal lead in the first round of the tournament, but were nearly undone by a last-minute red card. As a result, the winner of this clash will go through to the quarterfinals.
The match got underway at the Yokohama International Complex Arena and was enforced by Uzbeksan referee Ilgiz Tantashev. In the first half, both sides failed to produce results, with the Yokohama Mariners having the better of the field and many chances on offense, but with only one of nine shots on goal, while Bangkok United had five failed attempts on goal. In the second half, the Yokohama Mariners' offense continued to be strong, but there was no significant improvement in the shot statistics. Bangkok United went all out on defense in preparation for overtime. Neither team was able to score in regulation time, and with the score set at 2-2, extra time was on the horizon.
In the overtime period, the two sides battled even more fiercely, but neither side was able to break the deadlock. In the 120th minute, Yokohama Mariners' Yufei Murakami grabbed a penalty kick, which Lopez converted to give Yokohama Mariners a 1-0 lead. After that, Bangkok United failed to equalize and the Yokohama Mariners advanced with a narrow 1-goal advantage at home, eliminating the opponents 3-2 on aggregate.
On the other side, the match between Kofu Furin and South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai was equally intriguing. The two sides battled it out at the New National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, with Iranian referee Moeud Bonyadifard enforcing the law. Ulsan Hyundai broke the deadlock soon after with Hyeon Kim, and Kofu Furin came back with an equalizer in the 88th minute by Kazushi Mihei. However, Ulsan Hyundai staged a shutout in the closing stages of the match, with Cho Min-gyu completing the scoring in the 90th+4th minute. In the end, Ulsan Hyundai defeated Kofu Fung Lam 2-1 on the road, advancing to the last eight with a two-round aggregate score of 5-1, and will play against Jeonbuk Hyundai in the Korea Hyundai Derby. Notably, Jeonbuk Hyundai eliminated Pohang Steelers 3-1 in the 1/8 final.
