HONG KONG — Twice winners Urawa Red Diamonds beat Beijing Guoan 3-0 on Tuesday to reach the Asian Champions League last 16 and knock the Chinese Super League leaders out of the competition

Goals from Kazuki Nagasawa, Yuki Muto and Shinzo Koroki took the 2007 and 2017 champions into the knockout phase, where they will face South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai next month.

Japan's Urawa reached the last 16 by finishing second in Group G on 10 points, three clear of Beijing in third.

"This game was not easy by any stretch of the imagination, against a quality side in Beijing," said Urawa coach Oswaldo de Oliveira.

"We had to work hard to score our goals. They are a team that have won 10 in a row in their domestic league and we just beat them 3-0. I thought our players were outstanding tonight.

"The game was absolutely crucial for us. Our fate in the Asian Champions League was going to be determined by it." South Korea's Ulsan, who had already claimed top spot in Group H, were thrashed 5-0 by Shanghai SIPG, with Oscar scoring a hat-trick for the Chinese side.

The result meant Shanghai advanced to the last 16 at the expense of Kawasaki Frontale, despite the Japanese league champions' 4-0 win over Sydney FC.

Shanghai will now take on Jeonbuk Motors after the South Korean side topped Group G following their 0-0 draw with Buriram United.

In the western half of the draw, Qatar's Al Sadd slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Iran's Persepolis in Group D in what was the final game of 2010 World Cup-winning midfielder Xavi Hernandez's career.

The former Spain international could do little to deny the Iranians, who won thanks to goals from Mehdi Torabi and Ali Alipour.

Al Sadd had already earned their place in the next phase of the competition as Group D winners.

Al Sadd will meet compatriots Al Duhail in the last 16 after Rui Faria's team finished second in Group C after a 2-2 draw with group winners Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia.

Esteghlal defeated former champions Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates in the other game in Group C to finish third in the standings.

Al Hilal, who reached the final of the Asian Champions League in 2014 and 2017, will next meet fellow Saudis Al Ahli, who wrapped up second place in Group D with a 2-1 win over Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan thanks to Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 92nd-minute winner.

Osasuna return to La Liga

after Albacete defeat

Osasuna sealed their promotion to La Liga on Monday with three games to spare after Granada beat Albacete 1-0.

The Navarra side, relegated from the top flight in 2017, lead Spain's second division on 78 points from 39 games and are guaranteed to finish in the top two after third-place Albacete's home defeat left them 10 points adrift.

Osasuna spent 14 seasons in La Liga before being relegated in 2014. They returned to the top flight after winning in the playoffs in 2016, before immediately going down again.

Their highest finish was fourth in 2006, they reached the UEFA Cup semifinals in 2007, while in 2005 they were runners-up in the Copa del Rey.

Granada, second, are four points behind Osasuna and six ahead of Albacete, with one more win enough to secure their own return to the top flight after relegation in 2017. — Reuters