Shanghai SIPG has progressed through to the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League defeating Melbourne Victory 3-1.
Victory traveled to China just days after crashing out of the A-League finals series. After early pressure from Shanghai, Victory went on the attack but to no avail. with Kosta Barbarouses having the best of the chances.
Seemingly against the run of play the home side found the back of the net through Yu Hai with Dario Conca’s free kick headed in by the midfielder.
Shanghai doubled their advantage almost immediately, this time through Elkeson. Wu Lei’s cross in from the right flank was finished off by the Brazilian.
Victory’s attempts to get back into the game before half time saw Yan Junling produce a brilliant double save to deny Barbarouses and Archie Thompson on the follow-up.
The second half saw Shanghai add to their lead via the penalty spot after a Scott Galloway handball in the area; Conca converted.
Jesse Makarounas was a substitute and provided the late consolation goal, after a cut back from fellow sub Jason Geria. But it was too little too late from the Victory, who suffered their first defeat of this ACL campaign.
Progession is made difficult
Victory has not done their chances of making it to the round of 16 any favours with this result. The win sees Victory’s opponents, Shanghai SIPG, secure top spot in the group. They will feature in the next stage of matches. But the Melbourne club is now only ahead of South Korean side Suwon Bluewings by virtue of an away goal scored in the teams’ head to head. Both Victory and Suwon play their finals group stages matches at home – Melbourne against a Gamba Osaka side that has already been bundled out of the competition and Suwon against Shanghai.
Anything less than a win will severely reduce Melbourne’s chances of securing that elusive ticket to the next round. They will not want to rely on Shanghai doing them a favour and defeating Suwon. A win against Gamba is now even more of a necessity than it was prior to this game.
Déjà vu for Victory
The scene was a little too familiar for the Melbourne side. The team was playing well, creating chances before they conceded twice in quick succession. The storyline was almost identical to the side’s elimination final defeat to Brisbane Roar last Friday night. Even the way in which the goals were conceded – due to defensive errors and off of a set piece – were reminiscent of the scenes at Suncorp Stadium.
The déjà vu theme continues for the Victory with the club failing to win an away match in the ACL in the group stage once again. While this could change as the club has is in its best ever position to play in the competition beyond the group stage, it is a statistic the team needs to change.
A microcosm of the season
It has been a frustrating season for Melbourne and this was reflected in the game. Periods of positive play, studded with chances, were not capitalised on and were interspersed with periods of high pressure from oppositions. Where Victory was unable to turn these chances into goals, opposition sides were.
There have undoubtedly been a few highs this season but there have been just as many low points. While it is essential that Victory progress as far as possible in the ACL to salvage some of this season, the rebuilding of the squad and the tinkering of tactics and formations can’t come soon enough.
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