Zhejiang, a Chinese Super League (CSL) team, secured a thrilling 4-3 victory against Indonesia's Persib in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two at Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium on Thursday. This win marks the end of Zhejiang's winless streak on the road in the tournament.
Despite their impressive performance, Zhejiang did not advance to the knockout stage following Lion City Sailors' 5-2 win over Port in the same group. Both teams entered the next round with 10 points, but Zhejiang finished third in Group F with nine points.
The match was a high-scoring affair right from the start. Franko Andrijasevic opened the scoring in the 15th minute, assisted by Sun Zhengao. Seven minutes later, Persib’s Jean Kouassi capitalized on a defensive miscommunication to extend the lead to 2-0.
Persib fought back in the 31st minute as Beckham Putra converted a shot that managed to slip past Zhejiang's goalkeeper Zhao Bo, reducing the deficit to one. Zhejiang responded swiftly, with Gu Bin assisting Andrijasevic for his second goal in the 39th minute, putting the score at 3-1.
By the 58th minute, Zhao Bo set up Kouassi for his second goal, pushing the score to 4-1. However, Persib wasn't done yet, as David d Silva scored a header in the 70th minute, and Tyronne added a penalty in stoppage time, finalizing the score at 4-3.
Reference(s):
Eliminated Zhejiang end awkward record at AFC Champions League Two
cgtn.com
