From the night of August 22 to the early morning of August 23, Beijing time, the soccer world was ablaze with a number of exciting matches. In the smoke of the AFC Champions League playoffs, Shanghai Seaport suffered an unexpected loss at home, defeating Baton Rouge 2-3, missing out on the AFC Champions League, which was a shame. Another Chinese team, Zhejiang, managed to break into the next round with a narrow 1-0 win over Thai Harbor. Riyadh had a close 4-2 reverse against Dubai Young Boys in the AFC Champions League, with Crowe slumping and Talisca hitting two solo goals. Rangers shook hands with PSV Eindhoven 2-2 at home in the first round of the Champions League play-offs.
Super League leader Shanghai Seaport played at home and expected to win the match, but they lost by a staggering one-goal margin against the backdrop of a higher total price than Baton Rouge United. Especially unbelievable is that Shanghai Seaport's back line collapsed under the impact of Sergeyev. Despite the fact that Shanghai Seaport had a numerical advantage in the penalty area, the poor performance of the defense allowed the opponents to easily tear the defense apart. The standard of defense of the top team in the Chinese Super League is disappointing. Javier's tactical deployment was baffling. The opponents started with five foreigners, while Shanghai Seaport only sent one.
Riyadh was on the brink of elimination in their match against Dubai Youngsters, but like Shanghai Seaport, Riyadh staged a comeback. With Riyadh trailing 1-2 at the 80th minute, almost no one believed they could pull off the comeback. However, reality gave them a miracle. Riyadh scored three goals in a row to win 4-2 and advance to the next round, a game in which Crowe was infuriated by the referee and was awarded a penalty-free kick for a fall in the penalty area. He also scored a goal of his own. The biggest contributor to Riyadh's victory was undoubtedly the heroes who helped them advance. Rangers were more passive at home against PSV Eindhoven, but were solid on the defensive end. They managed to keep the score in the first half and capitalized on their scoring chances. Simeon's shot hit the corner of the net, and it was not easy for Rangers to score a goal when they only had three shots on goal in the first half. However, Rangers conceded a goal in the second half and Sangare's goal helped them equalize. Then, Matondo's goal gave Rangers the lead again. In the end, Luc De Jong stepped up and sealed the win with a header.
