Top 6 best matches in AFC Champions League history

Some of the mentioned teams have lifted the AFC Champions League too!

The upcoming second leg of the AFC Champions League 2023-24 final brings to conclusion a chapter of Asia’s top club competition, before it makes way to AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League 2.

The past two decades of the competition have brought some thrilling encounters that will live long in the memory of Asian football fans. Here are some of those classic AFC Champions League clashes.

6. Gamba Osaka vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2015, Quarter-Final)

A last-eight match-up between two former champions was the pick of the games in the 2015 edition as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors went up against Gamba Osaka. While a goalless first leg in Jeonju left the tie firmly in the balance, what followed in Osaka turned out to be a classic full of twists and turns.

Leonardo’s penalty put visitors Jeonbuk into the lead in the 13th minute, but no sooner than they were in front, Gamba equalised as Patric tapped home from Hiroyuki Abe’s centre a minute later to bring the tie level. And the score remained the same until the final 15 minutes, when the drama truly unfolded.

With Jeonbuk’s away goal seeing them in the driving seat, Gamba swung the pendulum back in their favour when Shu Kurata’s deflected shot from distance flew past goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae to put the hosts in front for the first time. But with just two minutes left on the clock, Jeonbuk dealt a seemingly killer blow as Urko Vera headed home to tie the game at 2-2.

Kenta Hasegawa’s Gamba were not done, however, and deep into added time they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as Kim Jung-ya slipped a pass through for substitute Koki Yonekura, who held off the challenge of his marker before beating Kwoun to the ball to send home.

Gamba’s bid to add to their 2008 title was ended in the semi-final by eventual champions Guangzhou FC while Jeonbuk went on to win the competition the following year, adding to their maiden success from 2006.

5. Al Hilal v Shabab Al Ahli – (2015, Semi-Final)

Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal suffered heartbreak at the final of the 2014 edition, losing out to debutants Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 on aggregate. The following year, they bounced back hoping to make it to the final once more.

Standing in their way at the penultimate obstacle were United Arab Emirates’ champions Al Ahli (now Shabab Al Ahli), who had made it this far after overcoming Persepolis and Lekhwiya (now Al Duhail). Headers from Brazilian duo Rodrigo Lima and Ailton Almeida saw the two sides play out a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Riyadh, setting up an intriguing return leg in Dubai.

Just as he did at King Fahd International Stadium, Lima put Shabab Al Ahli in front at Rashid Stadium after just 17 minutes, converting Ahmed Khalil’s cross from point blank. The home side were in dreamland by the break as Everton Ribeiro poked in past the goalkeeper to double their lead.

With the away goals rule then in place, Al Hilal needed to get two goals in the second half to win it, and they did so in style. Almeida swept home following a smart intelligent flick by Saud Kariri six minutes into the second half and Carlos Eduardo struck from distance to make it 2-2 after the hour-mark.

Deep into five minutes of added time, a Shabab Al Ahli corner was pushed away by goalkeeper Abdullah Al Sudairy, but only as far as Kwon Kyung-won who struck it on the half-volley into the back of the net to send his side to their first-ever AFC Champions League final with the very last kick of the game.

4. FC Seoul vs Urawa Red Diamonds (2016, Round of 16)

Three-time champions Urawa Red Diamonds have had their fair share of dramatic matches over the years and the last-16 tie against FC Seoul in 2016 was another that lives long in the memory.

Tomoya Ugajin’s first-leg goal at Saitama Stadium saw Urawa head to Korea Republic with a slight advantage but Adriano squared for Dejan Damjanovic to tap home just before the 30-minute mark at Seoul World Cup Stadium to draw the sides level.

Urawa’s Shinzo Koroki missed the best of the chances after the interval as the game remained level and headed to extra time, where the tournament’s top scorer Adriano netted his 11th goal of the campaign to put Seoul in front in the 94th minute. But the game was by no means done.

Two Tadanari Lee goals in the 112th and 115th minutes stunned the hosts and turned the game on its head as Urawa appeared set to advance. However, there remained time for more drama as Go Yo-han cut in from the right in stoppage time and struck a left-foot effort from distance that evaded goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa and ensured the game would go to penalties.

With the shootout at 6-6, Seoul goalkeeper Yu Sang-hun saved from Yoshiaki Komai, allowing Kim Dong-woo to blast home the winner and seal a quarter-final ticket after a rollercoaster ride in the Korean capital.

3. Guangzhou FC vs Shanghai Port (2017, Quarter-Final)

A clash between a pair of Chinese heavyweights in 2017 promised something special as the country’s dominant force two-time AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou FC went head-to-head with a star-studded Shanghai Port team intent on forcing a shift in power both domestically and on the continent.

And the match in Shanghai hinted that they were well capable of doing just that as goals from Hulk, Wang Shenchao and a Wu Lei brace secured an emphatic 4-0 win and gave Guangzhou a mountain to climb in the return meeting at Tianhe Stadium.

It was a challenge Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side rose to as a brace from Alan saw them go into the interval two goals up and with real hope. Then, with the game into its final 10 minutes, Ricardo Goulart’s diving header from Alan’s cross reduced the deficit to a single goal to line up a nerve-racking finale.

And Shanghai could not withstand the Guangzhou pressure as Goulart rose high at the back post to head home Li Xuepeng’s cross to spark pandemonium among the home support. Wang Jiajie’s dismissal early in extra time appeared to confirm the Shanghai collapse, but out of nowhere, Hulk won a free-kick and then curled home from 25 yards to stun the hosts as suddenly the visitors were heading through.

Incredibly, the game was not done, with Guangzhou throwing everything at their opponents and a little over three minutes remaining, Wang brought down Alan as he ran through on goal, was promptly sent off and Goulart dispatched the ensuing spot-kick for his hat-trick to take the match to penalties.

But Goulart went from hero to villain as he struck the post with the first penalty. And, having scored all of their first four spot-kicks, Yu Hai stepped forward to send Shanghai into their first-ever semi-finals after a clash for the ages.

2. Al Jazira v Persepolis – (2018, Round of 16)

Persepolis’ march to the 2018 final saw them lock horns with UAE champions Al Jazira in the round of 16, and things looked going to plan for the Iranian giants when Ali Alipour headed them in front three minutes before the break in Abu Dhabi.

Some exquisite footwork from Ali Mabkhout saw him beat two defenders and fire home from the edge of the area to equalise for Al Jazira seven minutes after the restart. Mabkhout then turned provider, feeding Romarinho who calmly finished past Alireza Beiranvand for 2-1.

Al Jazira captain Ali Khaseif thought he had rescued his side from a late equaliser when he parried Godwin Mensah’s penalty in the 82nd minute, but the referee deemed the Emirati goalkeeper to have moved off his line, ordering the penalty to be retaken. This time around, Mensah sent Khaseif the wrong way to restore parity.

With the clock ticking towards the final whistle, 19-year-old defender Khalifa Al Hammadi rose highest to head home a free-kick and earn his side a 3-2 win.

The following week, in front of 80,000 fans at Azadi Stadium, Persepolis wasted a flurry of chances before Ahmad Nourollahi finally opened the scoring with a long-range strike after the hour-mark. Romarinho hit one back in the 70th minute to give the Emiratis the aggregate edge again.

Just as in the first leg, it was a centre-back who decided it late on. This time, it was veteran Seyed Jalal Hosseini who hammered in on the half-volley in the final minute of the game, changing the destination of the quarter-finals ticket from Abu Dhabi to Tehran.

1. Al Hilal v Al Sadd – (2019, Semi-Final)

By 2019, Al Hilal’s pursuit of the coveted AFC Champions League title had extended to nearly two decades, with finals lost in 2014 and 2017. Facing 2011 champions Al Sadd, a ticket to the 2019 final was on the cards.

A moment of misfortune for French ace Bafetimbi Gomis saw him inadvertently send the ball into his own net, but Al Hilal recovered to end the first leg at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium with an emphatic 4-1 victory. Abdelkarim Hassan was sent-off and Gomis made amends with a brace, and goals from Ali Al Bulayhi and Mohammed Al Shalhoub rounded off the scoring.

For the 20,000 fans gathered at King Saud University Stadium were expecting a comfortable night at home for Al Hilal, especially after Salem Al Dawsari fired them into an early lead, extending their aggregate advantage to 5-1.

What followed was one of the most thrilling nights of AFC Champions League football. Goals from Akram Afif, Nam Tae-hee and Hassan Al Haydos turned the result around in the space of two minutes, with Al Sadd leading on the night 3-1 after just 20 minutes.

Suddenly, it was 5-4 on aggregate and Al Hilal fans began to sweat on a cool October evening in Riyadh. A 25th minute strike from Gomis did little to calm the nerves, so when Boualem Khoukhi powered in a header a minute before the end of added time, it set up a frantic finale. Everyone at the ground was on their toes when Nam lined-up a free-kick from 20 yards out that could have sent Al Sadd to the final. To the relief of the Saudi fans, Abdullah Al Mayouf produced the save that ensured Al Hilal’s passage to their third final in five years.

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