Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay said he substituted Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa because he was “feeling his hamstring” in the AFC Champions League Two defeat to J1 League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Costa was withdrawn 11 minutes into the second half of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Japanese giants on matchday three in Hiroshima, where Sydney’s perfect record in ACL Two this season came to an end.
After playing 90 minutes in Saturday’s 2-1 win over rivals Western Sydney Wanderers in the opening round of the Isuzu UTE A-League, the 34-year-old former Brazil, Bayern Munich and Juventus attacker was in the XI midweek.
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But moments after the Sky Blues fell 2-0 behind Sanfrecce in Japan, Costa was replaced by Joel King.
“We changed Douglas because he was feeling his hamstring. It was a little bit tight,” Talay told reporters when asked about Costa’s second-half withdrawal as Sydney look ahead to Sunday’s trip to Auckland FC.
“Plus we also have a game on Sunday that we need win in the competition.
“It was also a tactical change to put on some fresh legs because we were chasing the game.”
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Sanfrecce opened the scoring in the 20th minute via a stunning volley from winger Shunki Higashi, whose left-footed strike from inside the box flew into the bottom corner.
Sydney dominated possession and almost levelled on the stroke of half-time through Rhyan Grant but the away side then doubled their advantage in the second half through substitute Pieros Sotiriou.
Talay’s Sydney did get the goal they deserved in the 90th minute when substitutes Max Burgess and Adrian Segecic combined to good effect with the latter slotting the ball home from the edge of the area to set up a grandstand finish.
Sanfrecce held on for maximum points as they improved to nine points from three matches in Group E, three points clear of the Sky Blues.
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“Obviously disappointed we lost the game,” said Talay. “But overall, very proud of the performance the boys put on tonight.
“I thought it was a good display of football and the brand we can play.
“Conceded the first goal from a sort of counter-attack, a cross and a good volley from the back post. The second one, okay, was a mistake which allowed them to score the second goal.
“With the ball we had some really good moments. We could’ve scored early in the first half… Like I said, disappointed the boys didn’t get something from the game.”
