AFC Champions League Elite
Gamba, last season's AFC Champions League Two™ winners and making their first appearance on this stage since 2021, took the lead in the 29th minute through Usami after the Vietnam side had controlled the first half hour.
The J1 League outfit pulled further ahead after the break through Yusei Toshida before Usami added a second in the 67th minute and Koshiro Sumi closed in stoppage time to deny Cong An Ha Noi a winning start to their maiden continental appearance.
Showing no jitters in their top-tier debut, Cong An Ha Noi claimed the first shot on target when captain Nguyen Quang Hai’s swerving shot tested keeper Jun Ichimori in the eighth minute, with Damia Sabater ballooning his attempt shortly after.
It was then Gamba’s turn to prove their worth, but Shuto Abe’s low strike from outside the area in the 11th minute lacked real power to trouble Nguyen Filip.
The V League 1 side continued on the offensive, Alan Grafite heading wide of the left post, David Henen placing Ichimori under pressure with an attempt from the right and Brayan Perea crashing his 25-yard shot against the bar in the 26th minute.
Gamba, however, struck against the run of play in the 29th minute when Usami, fed by Ryoya Yamashita, hit a curling left-footed shot from 20-yards that zipped past Filip into the top left corner.
The Japanese outfit, denied a penalty in the 34th minute following a VAR review on a handball incident, continued pressing as Yamashita, presented with a golden chance in front of goal two minutes before the break, was dispossessed by an alert Stefan Mauk.
MD1: Gamba Osaka (JPN) v Cong An Ha Noi FC (VIE)
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Gamba doubled their lead in the 58th minute when Toshida placed himself perfectly to receive a Yamashita cross from the right, the striker getting between two defenders to head beyond an out-of-position Filip into an empty net.
An unmarked Usami netted his second of the game in the 67th minute when he latched on to a pass from Yamashita in the centre and coolly swept a low shot under the Cong An Ha Noi keeper from the right.
Perea pulled one back for Cong An Ha Noi in the 79th minute after Ichimori had parried Nguyen Dinh Bac’s effort, the striker lifting the loose ball over the prone keeper for their first goal in the continental championship.
Sumi completed an emphatic win for Gamba three minutes into stoppage time when he side-stepped Le Pham Thanh Long and slotted home from the left.
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