SINGAPORE: Marcello Lippi’s Guangzhou Evergrande need to pull off a great escape act today when they will try to overturn a two-goal deficit against Al Ittihad to reach the AFC Champions League semi-finals.
Super-rich Guangzhou, debutants in the competition, had the two-time Asian champions on the ropes two weeks ago, when goals by Gao Lin and Huang Bowen gave them a 2-1 half-time lead in the first leg of their quarter-final in Jeddah.
But the Saudi club stormed back in the second half, with a penalty by captain Mohammed Noor and a pair of headed goals by Naif Hazazi giving them a 4-2 advantage ahead of the return match in southern China.
Lippi pinned his team’s poor second-half performance in Jeddah on injury and fatigue with a number of his players still not fully recovered after they had been away on national team duty.
But the canny Italian, who led his native country to victory in the 2006 World Cup, still feels that the two-goal deficit can be overcome with Guangzhou back at full strength. While Al Ittihad hold the whip-hand, the experienced Saudi club will be wary of opening the door to Guangzhou, having twice been involved in AFC Champions League knockout stage games that featured stirring second-leg comebacks.
In the 2004 final, they lost 3-1 at home to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the first leg but scored a remarkable 5-0 win in the return match in South Korea to lift the trophy for the first time.
But the tables were turned two years later when the two-time defending champions threw away a two-goal lead against Syria’s Al Karama, losing 4-0 after extra-time in Homs to bow out of the competition.
After a dreadful run earlier this year, Al Ittihad are unbeaten in 22 games since the appointment of Spanish coach Raul Caneda as they target a third title and a spot in December’s Club World Cup.
The winners will play against either Al Ittihad’s Jeddah neighbours Al Ahli, or Iranian league champions Sepahan in the semi-finals. Those two teams will also meet today after a 0-0 draw in Esfahan two weeks ago.
AFP
