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Evergrande demolishes Kashiwa
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Marcello Lippi’s Guangzhou Evergrande fought back after conceding an early goal to floor Kashiwa Reysol 4-1 and put one foot in the AFC Champions League final last night in Japan.
Striker Cleo, who is on loan from Guangzhou, put Kashiwa ahead after 10 minutes. But four second-half goals, including a Muriqui double and a Dario Conca rocket, gave the visitors a big win in the semifinal first leg.
The Chinese champions, coached by former World Cup-winning manager Lippi, will now be huge favorites to reach the final as they seek to end China’s 23-year Asian title drought.
In yesterday’s other semifinal, FC Seoul scored either side of half-time in a 2-0 home win over Iran’s Esteghlal to give themselves a glorious chance of reaching the final.
Kashiwa was quick to get on the scoresheet and it was a soft one as Jorge Wagner’s diagonal free-kick floated in and bounced into the net after a slight touch from the head of Cleo.
The early strike rocked the visitors, and with Kashiwa’s massed ranks of fans wearing yellow in full voice, the tournament’s form team suddenly looked out of sorts.
Cleo and Junya Tanaka both had chances but Kashiwa rode its luck when Guangzhou’s Muriqui, latching on to a scuffed shot, curled his strike at goal — only to be denied by the inside of the post.
Wagner’s deliveries were causing constant problems for Zeng Cheng in the Guangzhou goal, and it was only the goalkeeper’s trailing legs that kept out Tanaka when he looked like he was going to extend Kashiwa’s lead.
Cleo was also picked out by Wagner near half-time with a high one that he chested down and half-volleyed over the bar from close range.
Lippi introduced midfielder Zhao Xuri after the break and he was quickly in the thick of it, setting up Muriqui for a chance in the box and taking a pot-shot from distance.
Guangzhou was firmly in the ascendancy when Muriqui pounced to make it 1-1. Sun Xiang’s cross from the left was poorly dealt with by the Kashiwa defense and the Brazilian made no mistake this time as he thumped his shot into the roof of the net.
Conca was the next to make his mark, unleashing a fierce left-footed shot that gave the visitors a 2-1 lead on 67 minutes.
Conca’s corner led to an Elkeson goal in the 82nd minute and Muriqui rounded Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno in injury time to make it 4-1.
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