The Women's Asian Games soccer tournament kicked off at the same time as the Asian Champions League, with China's women's soccer team taking on Japan's women's soccer team, as well as Shandong Taishan's clash with Yokohama Mariners. It is worth noting that 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, their chances of qualifying for the AFC Champions League group stage will be greatly improved. Although Yokohama Mariners are currently ranked second in the J-League and should not be underestimated, Taishan will try to win with the advantage of home field.
In terms of the starting lineup, Taishan fielded a starting lineup of four foreigners. Fellaini is in the lead, followed by Cressan and Moises. On the defensive end, Jadson held down the rear of the defense and the domestic players were among the best of the international players. Brazilian strikers Pato and Fernando are on the bench for now. Yokohama Mariners, on the other hand, only fielded a substitute lineup for their AFC Champions League away game, with key players such as former Chinese Super League foreign aid player Lopez not playing.
Yokohama Mariners were the first to break the deadlock in the 37th minute of the match. The visitors completed a fine 2-1 play in the Taishan penalty area. Elbe burst into the penalty area, broke through the defense, and facing Wang Dalei's defense, he skillfully passed the ball to the middle of the field, and Hirata Mizunuma seized the opportunity to shoot the ball into the empty goal, giving Yokohama Mariners a 1-0 lead over Shandong Taishan.
In the 49th minute of the second half, Yokohama Mariners further extended their lead. The team launched a quick counterattack with a precise pass to Nam Tae-hee, who scored unmarked in the center of the pitch. However, VAR intervened and ruled Nam Tae-hee offside, nullifying the goal. Immediately after that, during a corner kick attack by Taishan, Fellaini was tripped in the penalty area, the referee did not blow the penalty, but the VAR checked for a long time to see if Fellaini had fallen down due to a foul, and eventually did not award a penalty kick. The penalty sparked controversy.
In the second half, Taishan replaced Pato and Fernando one after another to try to strengthen the offense, but there were not many chances, while Yokohama Mariners' counterattack was very sharp. In the 87th minute of the match, Taishan almost equalized the score, but Reisan's header hit the crossbar and missed the chance to score. In the end, Taishan lost 0-1 to Yokohama Mariners at home, failing to realize two consecutive victories in the AFC Champions League. Although Taishan is one of the best teams in the Chinese Super League at the moment, they did not manage to gain any advantage against the rotating lineup of the strongest team in the Japanese league. We can only look at this gap and realize that we still have a long way to go on our soccer journey. Meanwhile, Taishan still has a chance to win, but unfortunately, not in the AFC Champions League.
