AFC Champions League Two
After a tepid first half, Melbourne turned on the style after the restart with goals from Guillermo May, Clarismario Santos and Jordi Valadon sealing the three points for Giovanni Savarese’s side.
Both teams jostled for possession but it was Melbourne Victory who threatened first, with Keegan Jelacic forcing FC Seoul goalkeeper Lim Jun-sub into a low save in the 16th minute before Denis Genreau’s follow-up was blocked.
The hosts continued to press, with May testing Lim from outside the box in the 23rd minute, while Harrison Shillington saw two close-range efforts blocked three minutes later.
May was denied again just before the half-hour mark, with Seoul defending resolutely to block further attempts from Valadon, Matthew Grimaldi, Jelacic and Harry Sawyer.
Seoul offered a late response through Jang Han-gyeol, who fired narrowly wide from distance in the 44th minute, before Lee Han-do headed Park Soo-il’s cross over the bar in stoppage time as the sides went into the break level.
Group E: Melbourne Victory (AUS) v FC Seoul (KOR)
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The K League side came close to breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute after Park Soo-il sent a point-point cross for Leonardo Ruiz, who could only connect with a tame header right into the palms of Melbourne goalkeeper Jack Duncan.
Seoul were in control until the 63rd minute when a stray pass by Park Seong-hoon gave Keegan Jelacic the chance to slip a through ball to May, who hit the left post, before Denis Genreau saw his shot deflected into the path of May to score from inside the box.
It was May again pulling the strings in midfield to put Melbourne 2-0 up 10 minutes later when he set Genreau free on the left channel to feed Clarismario Santos for a composed finish.
Melbourne continued to apply pressure and their plan worked to perfection again in the 84th minute when Genreau set up Valadon, who unleashed a curling effort which took a kind deflection before settling into the back of the net.
Seoul tried to find their way back but were unable to get past Melbourne’s defence as the A-League side secured the first win of their campaign.
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