AFC Champions League Elite - Matchday 6: What they said

AFC Champions League Elite
#ACLElite - MD6: What they said
Sat, 07 December, 2024

Kuala Lumpur: Matchday Six of the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2024/25 saw another round of exciting action as teams confirmed progress, revived hopes or suffered blows.

With the tournament to only resume in February, the-AFC.com listens to what was said by the teams after another pulsating round of matches.

“This victory was the result of the efforts of the players and our analysis of the opponents and until the last moment, we fought to win."

Juan Carlos Garrido was extremely proud after Persepolis FC revived their knockout stage hopes with a 2-1 win against Iraq’s Al Shorta.

"I think my players did a good job as we played as a unit. Unfortunately, we made many bad decisions in the final third of the pitch."

Milos Milojevic felt UAE's Al Wasl should have taken full points against Qatar's Al Rayyan.

"If we look at the statistics, we didn't only rely on penalty kicks to reach Esteghlal's goal. We reached the final third and created many chances, but we lacked the final touch.”

Al Ahli Saudi FC head coach Matthias Jaissle was honest in his assessment of his side's performance in the draw with Islamic Republic of Iran's Esteghlal FC.

"Our primary goal was to deprive Al Nassr of possession. It's never easy to beat Al Nassr in their home stadium, but the players displayed tremendous character on the field."

Felix Sanchez was full of praise after Al Sadd SC edged Al Nassr Club to confirm their knockout stage spot.

“We were good and controlled the game from start to finish. It’s been an absolute pleasure coaching this team over the past 11 months, and it brings me so much happiness to see this kind of dominance.”

Interim head coach John Hutchinson applauded his Yokohama F. Marinos players for the 4-0 win over Central Coast Marines, with the victory taking the Japanese side to the top of the East Zone standings.

“Vissel Kobe are a highly tactical and technical team, and we were mindful of the challenges they posed. However, our players rose to the occasion, and this victory gives us additional confidence as we prepare for the remaining fixtures.”

Pohang Steelers head coach Park Tae-ha wants his side to build on their impressive 3-1 win over Japan's Vissel Kobe.

“Competing at this level is challenging, but the players demonstrated teamwork and applied pressure on our opponents. Ultimately, football comes down to finding that finishing touch, and that’s where we fell short."

Johor Darul Ta’zim head coach Hector Bidoglio was left with mixed feelings after the goalless draw with Buriram United.

“We lost two points today. Now we are tied to the results of other teams.”

Leonardo Jardim accepted the fact that Al Ain FC's knockout stage hopes have all but vanished after the 1-1 draw with Pakhtakor.

"It was a good match, we controlled most of it, and we had chances to increase the goals in the first half but we did not take advantage of them but in the second half we managed to do so."

Jorge Jesus was pleased that Al Hilal SFC turned up the tempo to beat Al Gharafa SC, with the result taking the four-time Asian champions back to the top of the West Zone standings.

"I'm really happy we were able to win. We knew it was going to be difficult but we played as a team.”

Forward Marcinho attributed teamwork for Kawasaki Frontale's 4-0 win over Shandong Taishan.

“We had a difficult first half and had a bad start but in the second half, we fought back through hard work. I am proud of my players' performance."

Kim Pan-gon praised his Ulsan HD players for showing resilience as they clinched their first win of the campaign with a 2-1 defeat of Shanghai Shenhua FC.

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