By Michael Church
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Talking points from the week in Asian football:
KOBE CLOSE ON J.LEAGUE TITLE AS SASAKI DOUBLE SEALS POINTS
Daiju Sasaki struck twice as Vissel Kobe moved another step closer to their first J.League title with a 3-1 win over Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
In front of a crowd of 53,444 at National Stadium in Tokyo, Kobe notched up a victory that keeps Takayuki Yoshida’s side four points clear of Yokohama F Marinos with four games remaining in the campaign.
Defending champions Marinos defeated Consadole Sapporo 4-1 while Urawa Red Diamonds maintained their hold on third with a 2-0 win over Kashiwa Reysol on Friday.
BEIJING PUT SHANGHAI PORT CHINESE TITLE CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD
Shanghai Port missed the opportunity to wrap up the Chinese Super League title on Friday as Javier Pereira’s side slipped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Beijing Guoan.
Victory would have earned Port their first title since 2018 but goals from Wang Gang and Fabio Abreu, from the penalty spot, put Beijing in command and the home side held on to take the points despite Wu Lei’s late strike.
Shandong Taishan moved to within five points of the leaders with two games remaining of the season with a 3-0 win over Changchun Yatai.
CENTRAL COAST MAKE LOSING START TO A-LEAGUE TITLE DEFENCE
Central Coast Mariners kicked off their defence of the A-League title with a 3-0 loss against Adelaide United as Melbourne Victory notched up a 2-0 win over bitter rivals Sydney FC.
Goals from Ben Halloran, Zach Clough and Nick Ansell condemned Mariners to a losing start to the new campaign at Hindmarsh Stadium but Jackson backed his players to improve over time.
“I fully believe we’re on the right track, even though it’s early,” said Jackson. “We’ve got a group of young players who are hungry to get better and go out and win football matches.”
FALTERING ULSAN SEE K-LEAGUE LEAD TRIMMED AFTER GWANGJU LOSS
Ulsan Hyundai’s poor form continued on Saturday as the defending K-League champions slipped to a 1-0 loss against third-placed Gwangju FC on Saturday that sees their lead cut to eight points with four games remaining.
Hong Myung-bo’s team have not won any of their last four games in all competitions and slipped to defeat following Lee Kun-hee’s 88th minute goal.
Second-placed Pohang Steelers moved a point closer to the summit with a 1-1 draw against Incheon United while Jeonbuk Motors enhanced their hopes of a top three finish with a 2-1 win over Daegu FC.
MITROVIC TAKES AL-HILAL THREE CLEAR IN SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Al-Hilal moved three points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League when Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header earned the Riyadh-based club a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej.
Mitrovic capitalised in the 30th minute when the Al-Khaleej defence failed to clear a corner, with the former Fulham striker holding off his opponent to nod home from six yards out.
The win takes Al-Hilal onto 26 points, three ahead of Al-Tawoon, who drew 1-1 with reigning champions Al-Ittihad, while Al-Nassr are third following their 2-1 win over Damak.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Michael Perry)
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