Vissel Kobe climbed to the top of the Asian Champions League Elite East standings Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over previously unbeaten South Korean side Gwangju FC.
Taisei Miyashiro opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Daiju Sasaki added the second for the current J-League leaders, who leapfrogged Gwangju by moving up to 10 points from three wins and one draw.
Having previously defeated J-League clubs Yokohama F Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale, continental newcomers Gwangju faced much sterner opposition from the reigning champions of Japanese football at Noevir Stadium.
Vissel Kobe’s Taisei Miyashiro opens the scoring from the penalty spot in first-half injury time against South Korea’s Gwangju FC in their Asian Champions League Elite league-stage match on Nov. 5, 2024, at Noevir Stadium in Kobe, western Japan. (Kyodo)
Miyashiro buried his kick after Gwangju were penalized for handball in first-half injury time, and was also involved in Sasaki’s goal nine minutes into the second half.
With Kobe unleashing an attack from deep within their own half, Gwangju keeper Kim Kyeong Min could only parry Miyashiro’s volley into the path of Sasaki, who headed home from the middle of the area.
Yusuke Segawa (L) scores Kawasaki Frontale’s second goal against Shanghai Port during the first half of their Asian Champions League Elite league-stage match on Nov. 5, 2024, at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki, near Tokyo. (Kyodo)
At Todoroki Stadium, Kawasaki logged their second win of the league stage by downing Shanghai Port 3-1.
Akihiro Ienaga, Yusuke Segawa and Sai van Wermeskerken got on the scoresheet against Port, managed by former Marinos boss Kevin Muscat, who were crowned Chinese Super League champions at the weekend. Kawasaki sit sixth on six points.
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