AFC Champions League Elite
Lingard, playing in his final game for the K League side, gave Kim Gi-dong’s side a 31st minute lead with a first-time finish but Kanamori ensured City extended their unbeaten run in the competition to four matches with a clinical strike into the corner of the home goal.
The result moves Melbourne City onto 10 points from six matches with FC Seoul a point behind with two games remaining in the eastern league phase of the competition, which resumes in February.
Lingard’s run down the left channel for FC Seoul opened up the Melbourne City defence in the 12th minute, the Englishman cutting the ball back into centre from where Lee Seung-mo eventually shot towards goal, only for his attempt to be blocked by German Ferreyra.
It was 19 minutes later that the former Manchester United forward put his side in front.
The goal owed much to the delivery from the right by Choi Jun, whose cross from close to the touchline was inch-perfect and allowed Lingard to stroke his first touch back across Patrick Beach, the ball rolling into the bottom corner.
FC Seoul opened up their visitors again six minutes before the break with an intricate passing move that started inside their own half, Jeong Seung-won delivering a lofted cross from the edge of the area to Hwang Do-yun but his header was gathered by Beach.
Elbasan Rashani thumped his attempt wide of the target for City while the Australians were denied by Kim Jin-su’s last-ditch defending to deny Nathaniel Atkinson as he sought to latch onto Rashani’s inviting pass across the face of goal at the end of a flowing move.
Cheon Seong-hoon was denied eight minutes into the second half when his attempt was deflected wide by the City defence after Beach’s poor clearance landed at the feet of the forward.
Midway through the second half Anderson strode forward to unleash a shot that clipped the outside of Beach’s right post as FC Seoul continued to look for the goal that would likely put the result beyond doubt.
Instead it was Melbourne City who struck next. Kavian Rahmani moved down the right side and slid the ball across the face of goal to Kanamori, who slammed a shot from 20 yards into the bottom corner of Choi Chul-won’s goal.
Beach then threw himself to his right in the final minute to keep out Ryu Jae-moon goal-bound strike and guarantee a point for Aurelio Vidmar’s side.
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