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AFC Champions League Elite
The victory confirmed Vissel Kobe’s second successive appearance in the Round of 16 but the German tactician admitted it was achieved with some difficulty due in part to the busy schedule ahead.
#ACLElite | Vissel Kobe (JPN) 2-0 FC Seoul (KOR)
“I’m very happy that we won this match and qualified for the next round,” said Skibbe. “It was difficult at the beginning of the match but after 15-20 minutes, we did better and created chances to score.
“We’re at the beginning of a very stressful season and we have to play a lot of matches in the next month. So we have to ensure that the players don’t play too many minutes at the beginning of the season."
“We’re at the beginning of a very stressful season and we have to play a lot of matches in the next month. So we have to ensure that the players don’t play too many minutes at the beginning of the season."
“Because of this, we had to make some changes in the starting XI and that impacted us at the start as the players took time to get used to each other.
“I’m very happy because the team was excellent - especially in the second half. We put good pressure on the opponents and we created nice chances and scored two fantastic goals,” said Skibbe, who was in charge of Sanfrecce Hiroshima last season.
“I’m very happy because the team was excellent - especially in the second half. We put good pressure on the opponents and we created nice chances and scored two fantastic goals,” said Skibbe, who was in charge of Sanfrecce Hiroshima last season.
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Second half goals from Yoshinori Muto and Gotoku Sakai took Vissel to 16 points as the 2024 J League 1 champions stayed top of the East Zone standings while Seoul dropped to sixth but their qualification fate remains very much in their own hands.
Head coach Kim Gi-dong was disappointed with the outcome and accepted the need for improvements with his team still in the early days of the new season.
Head coach Kim Gi-dong was disappointed with the outcome and accepted the need for improvements with his team still in the early days of the new season.
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“I think this match allowed me to see the problems in my team,” said Kim. “Our preparations were not long enough compared to a normal season as we only had three weeks of training.
“The players trained well but things are always different in an actual match and I’m sure we will improve as the season goes on."
“The players trained well but things are always different in an actual match and I’m sure we will improve as the season goes on."
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“Actually, we started well in the first half and controlled the game. But in the second half, after conceding we started to lose the balance and players lost their confidence which caused us problems.”
Seoul’s Round of 16 spot will be decided when they take on Sanfrecce next week while Vissel play Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Seoul’s Round of 16 spot will be decided when they take on Sanfrecce next week while Vissel play Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim.
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