SYDNEY — Guangzhou Evergrande went down 2-1 to Sydney FC in the Asian Champions League Wednesday despite the efforts of $45 million signing Jackson Martinez, with its coach Luiz Felipe Scolari saying the better team won.
In Karshi, Uzbekistan, Maksud Karimov’s second-half strike gave Nasaf a 2-1 win over Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia in Group D as the Uzbeks avenged their defeat by the same scoreline in Jeddah last week.
Bobir Abdixolikov’s close-range header gave the hosts 1-0 lead.
And the Uzbeks then doubled their advantage through defender Karimov before Muhannad Asiri pulled one back from the penalty spot with 20 minutes remaining. But despite a late Al-Ahli onslaught Nasaf held out to claim its first points of the continental campaign.
Serbian substitute Milos Dimitrijevic scored the winner two minutes from time to leave Guangzhou, champion of Asia for two of the last three years and China for the last five, with a solitary point from its first two matches in Group H.
“Sydney deserved to win this match, we had some problems in our defense tonight because we always want to attack,” Brazilian World Cup-winning coach Scolari told reporters.
“The difference between the two teams tonight was that Sydney FC have good quality, are very strong physically, they made a lot of opportunities. Good team.”
The defeat also left Guangzhou striker Martinez, who signed for $45.60 million from Atletico Madrid last month, without a goal in his first three matches.
Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold hailed a fantastic performance from his team but said Martinez would thrive in Asian football.
It was Sydney FC, whose entire wage bill comes in at less than $4 million a year, who took the lead in the 17th minute, however, when Guangzhou’s frailty in the air allowed Robert Stambolziev to slot the ball home from close range.
The Asian champion should have equalized three minutes later when Sebastian Ryall tugged Martinez down in the box only for Croatian goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic to save Brazilian Ricardo Goulart’s penalty down to his left.
The visitors were level five minutes later, though, when winger Huang Bowen broke down the right flank and, ignoring Martinez in the middle, went for goal, with Ryall helping the ball into the net.
Just after the half-hour mark, Martinez showed a flash of skill as he beat his marker on the right flank and cut inside another defender to make room for the shot, only to curl the ball wide of the post.
A penalty appeal when Martinez went down on the edge of the box at the start of the second half went unheeded and for much of the rest of the match he watched as the long balls launched towards him were dealt with by the Sydney defense.
Sydney refused to let Guangzhou dictate the play and, with two minutes left, it broke down the right and Dimitrijevic took one touch from Dave Carney’s pass before rifling the ball into the net to snatch the points.
In other matches: Gamba Osaka of Japan drew with Melbourne Victory of Australia 1-1; Pohang Steelers of South Korea edged Urawa Reds of Japan 1-0; China’s Shanghai beat South Korean outfit Suwon Samsung 2-1; Al-jaish of Qatar edged Al-Ain of UAE 2-1; Tractor Sazi Tabriz of Iran prevailed over Al-Jazira of UAE. — Agencies
