Nagoya Grampus, FC Seoul and Tianjin Teda have confirmed their passage into the last 16 of the AFC Champions League after posting victories.
A Jungo Fujimoto penalty in the 77th minute against Chinese side Hangzhou Lucheng on Wednesday was enough to seal Japanese champions Nagoya Grampus’ round of 16 ticket.
FC Seoul also progressed from Group F after accounting for 2003 Asian champions Al Ain 3-0.
Han Ko-yo drew first blood in the 17th minute for the Korean side, before Dejan Damjanovic doubled the lead five minutes before half-time.
The Montenegrin striker then added to his tally in the 73rd to give the home side a resounding 3-0 victory.
Seoul and Nagoya are on 10 points apiece at the head of Group F, well clear of Hangzhou and Al Ain, who both have amassed four points with, with one game remaining in the group stage.
In Group E, K-League outfit Jeju United suffered a 3-0 loss to Tianjin Teda of China at the TEDA Stadium on Thursday courtesy of goals from Argentine Luciano Olguin, Wu Wei’an and Cao Yang.
The Chinese side went ahead in the eight minute through Olguin, who found the net with a headed effort off a corner before Wei’an scored from a rebound to double the advantage.
Tianjin then added a third as Yang converted a spot kick after midfielder Chen Tao was hauled down by Jeju goalkeeper Kim Ho-jun.
The result leaves the Chinese Super League runners-up with 10 points from five games, and they now have an unassailable lead over second-placed Gamba Osaka after the Korean side drew 1-1 with the Melbourne Victory.
Victory skipper Adrian Leijer opened the scoring for the hosts, but Sota Nakazawa’s 43rd minute equaliser ensured a point for Gamba.
Gamba’s seven point mean they are still in danger of losing their knockout round berth to either Jeju (6pts) or Melbourne (5pts) ahead of the final group games next week.
In Group A, a 1-1 draw was enough for Sepahan and Al Hilal to confirm their places in the last 16.
Abdullah Al Zori gave Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal the lead one minute after half time, but a goal from Moharram Navidkia 10 minutes later ensured the honours would be shared.
Younis Mahmoud scored a hat-trick in Al Gharafa’s 5-2 hammering of Al Jazira in the other Group A fixture, but the victory still leaves them three points behind both Sepahan and Al Hilal and with an inferior head-to-head record against both.
Al Nasr moved to the brink of progression in Group B after they thrashed Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor 4-0, with Bader al Mutwa scoring a brace.
