KUALA LUMPUR: Yokohama F Marinos handed 10-man Buriram United from Thailand a 5-0 thrashing on Wednesday as the Japanese side moved up to third in the league phase of the Asian Champions League Elite standings.

Anderson Lopes scored twice after Sasalak Haiprakhon had been sent off for a dangerous tackle on Jean Aziangbe to give interim coach John Hutchison a second win in four games and move last season’s beaten finalists onto seven points.

Ex-champions Pohang Steelers also pic­ked up their second win of the campaign when the South Koreans han­ded Shandong Taishan a 4-2 defeat to move into the qualification spots for the knockout rounds.

The first eight finishers in the 12-team leagues in both east and west Asia advance to March’s knockout rounds with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final to be played in a centralised hub in Saudi Arabia in April and May.

On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo was on target as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr inflicted a crushing 5-1 defeat on Al-Ain in Riyadh that left the title-holders’ hopes of advancing to the last 16 in jeopardy.

The win was Al-Nassr’s third in four matches in the league phase of the continental championship and moves Stefano Pioli’s side up to third in the west Asia table and within two points of compatriots Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli, who lead the standings at the halfway point.

Al-Ain, who defeated Al-Nassr last season on the way to the title, are in danger of missing out on a place in the knockout rounds having picked up a solitary point in their four games so far.

Al-Rayyan climbed off the bottom of the table when the Qatari side picked up their first points of the campaign with a 1-0 win over Pakh­takor of Uzbekistan.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2024