AFC Champions League Elite - MD6: Vissel Kobe (JPN) 2-2 Chengdu Rongcheng FC (CHN)

#ACLElite | Vissel Kobe (JPN) 2-2 Chengdu Rongcheng FC (CHN) — AFC Champions League Elite
MD6: Vissel Kobe (JPN) 2-2 Chengdu Rongcheng FC (CHN)
Tue, 09 December, 2025

Kobe: Vissel Kobe’s hopes of early Round of 16 qualification were dashed after a 2-2 draw with Chengdu Rongcheng FC in their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 tie at the Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium on Tuesday.

The sides exchanged leads, with Yoshinori Muto’s first-half strike cancelled out by a brace from Felipe only for Daiju Sasaki to strike a late equaliser for Vissel.

The hard-fought draw means the Japanese side remain at the top of the East Zone with 13 points with Chengdu on six.

Vissel Kobe showed attacking intent from the start, but the visitors had the first look at goal in the 12th minute when skipper Tim Chow found space between two defenders and sent a sharp header that bounced off the left post.

The Japanese side, however, made good use of their first clear chance six minutes later when Muto turned his marker inside the area and drilled a low shot beyond keeper Jian Tao into the bottom right.

The opening momentum began to wind down until one minute into time added on, Chengdu’s Felipe picking up a flick from Chow and unleashing a stinging shot from 25 yards that swerved in past a diving Shuichi Gonda.

The Brazilian could have given his side a perfect start to the second half when he snuck in from behind the Vissel Kobe defence to latch on to a Li Yang cross but then headed wide past the left post.

The J1 League side found their rhythm 10 minutes in, with Muto and Haruya Ide forcing Tao to pull off consecutive saves with the former then seeing his close-range attempt in the 67th minute again kept out by the keeper.

Forced to defend deep after the break, a rare Chengdu foray upfront saw them going ahead in the 75th minute after a handball by Yosuke Ideguchi, with Felipe blasting his spot-kick into the top right corner beyond Gonda to silence the home crowd.

There was to be no victory for the Chinese side though as Vissel Kobe drew level 10 minutes later with a penalty of their own after Li Yang’s foul on Daiju Sasaki, which was confirmed after a VAR review.

Sasaki made no mistake from the spot, sending Tao the wrong way to give his side a well-deserved draw.

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