Marinos see off Shandong to seal first ACL semis
Yokohama F. Marinos edged Shandong Taishan 1-0 in the AFC Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday, with the Japanese outfit reaching the semifinals 3-1 on aggregate.
Kida Takuya (L) of Yokohama F. Marinos vies with Cryzan Barcelos of Shandong Taishan during the quarterfinal second leg match between Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan and Shandong Taishan of China at the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League in Yokohama, Japan, March 13, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
Though Shandong's Brazilian attacker Cryzan Barcelos made the starting lineup back from injury, he could not stop the Chinese Super League club from suffering its fourth straight loss to Yokohama.
The two teams were tied 0-0 in the first half. Although Yokohama's Katsuya Nagato was sent off for receiving a second yellow card in the 47th minute, goalkeeper William Popp denied Shandong's efforts.
Things got worse for Shandong as Gao Zhunyi was given a direct red card after VAR check.
Anderson Lopes scored in the 75th minute as Yokohama built on its 2-1 advantage from the first leg to book the last semifinal berth.
"Due to fatigue, we didn't seize the chance to win. We saw both our advantages and disadvantages in this tournament," Shandong Taishan head coach Choi Kang-hee said at a post-game press conference.