FC Seoul have defeated Vegalta Sendai 2-1 in the AFC Champions League despite having midfielder Choi Hyun-tae in goal during the final minutes.
FC Seoul have defeated Vegalta Sendai 2-1 in the AFC Champions League despite having midfielder Choi Hyun-tae in goal during the final minutes.
Choi was forced to take the gloves after FC Seoul’s goalkeeper Yoo Sang-hoon fouled Wilson in the box and was sent off in the 84th minute, with the Korean capital club having already made three substitutions.
Wilson dusted himself off and slotted the penalty past Choi to cut Seoul’s lead in half but Vegalta Sendai were unable to create any more clear-cut goal-scoring chances to test the stand-in goalkeeper and the home side held on to maintain their three-point lead in Group E.
Seoul started brilliantly in front of their home fans, hitting the bar in the opening stages and in the fifth minute Sergio Escudero gave them the lead with a volley from the edge of the area after a one-two with Colombian midfielder Mauricio Molina.
Vegalta Sendai goalkeeper Takuto Hayashi gifted Seoul their second goal in the 22nd minute, letting Kim Jin-kyu’s free-kick slip through his hands and his legs to trickle across the line.
But having been in control of Tuesday’s match, Seoul handed their Japanese visitors a lifeline when Yoo came off his line to try and clear the ball away from Wilson and instead caught the Brazilian striker on the knee, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Wilson then smashed his penalty past Choi, however, Vegalta Sendai were unable to find an equaliser.
Seoul moved to seven points at the top of Group E, three ahead of Jiangsu Sainty, who defeated fourth-placed Buriram United 2-0, while Vegalta Sendai (two points) are third.
In Iran, Al Ahli’s Brazilian duo Victor Simoes and Bruno Cesar joined forces to effectively defeat Sepahan by themselves.
Simoes scored twice thanks to two assists, while the pair swapped roles for Al Ahli’s second goal as the Saudi Arabian club thumped Sepahan 4-2.
Al Gharafa won by the same margin on the road to Al Nasr, while El Jaish also had a comfortable win, knocking off Al Jazira 3-1.
In other AFC Champions League results, Pohang Steelers defeated Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 and Bunyodkor were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Beijing Guoan.
