2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage

The 2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 7 May to 10 November 2018.[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2018 AFC Champions League.[2]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage advanced to the round of 16, with both West Region (Groups A–D) and East Region (Groups E–H) having eight qualified teams.

Region Group Winners Runners-up
West Region A Al-Ahli Al-Jazira
B Al-Duhail Zob Ahan
C Persepolis Al-Sadd
D Esteghlal Al-Ain
East Region E Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Tianjin Quanjian
F Shanghai SIPG Ulsan Hyundai
G Guangzhou Evergrande Buriram United
H Suwon Samsung Bluewings Kashima Antlers

Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).[2]

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.[1] Matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the East Region were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Round First leg Second leg
Round of 16 7–9 May 2018 14–16 May 2018
Quarter-finals 27–29 August 2018 17–19 September 2018
Semi-finals 2–3 October 2018 23–24 October 2018
Final 3 November 2018 10 November 2018

Bracket

The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:

Round Matchups
Round of 16 (Group winners host second leg)
Quarter-finals (Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, involving four round of 16 winners each in West Region and East Region)
Semi-finals (Winners QF1 and QF3 host first leg, Winners QF2 and QF4 host second leg)
Final (Winner SF2 host first leg, Winner SF1 host second leg, as reversed from previous season's final)
  • Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2

The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3][4][5]

  Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                             
Kashima Antlers 3 1 4  
Shanghai SIPG 1 2 3  
  Kashima Antlers 2 3 5  
  Tianjin Quanjian 0 0 0  
Tianjin Quanjian (a) 0 2 2
Guangzhou Evergrande 0 2 2  
  Kashima Antlers 3 3 6  
East Region
  Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2 3 5  
Buriram United 3 0 3  
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 2 4  
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0 3 3 (2)
  Suwon Samsung Bluewings (p) 3 0 3 (4)  
Ulsan Hyundai 1 0 1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0 3 3  
  Kashima Antlers 2 0 2
  Persepolis 0 0 0
Zob Ahan 1 1 2  
Esteghlal 0 3 3  
  Esteghlal 1 2 3
  Al-Sadd 3 2 5  
Al-Sadd 2 2 4
Al-Ahli 1 2 3  
  Al-Sadd 0 1 1
West Region
  Persepolis 1 1 2  
Al-Ain 2 1 3  
Al-Duhail 4 4 8  
  Al-Duhail 1 1 2
  Persepolis 0 3 3  
Al-Jazira 3 1 4
Persepolis (a) 2 2 4  

Round of 16

Summary

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Jazira 4–4 (a) Persepolis 3–2 1–2
Al-Sadd 4–3 Al-Ahli 2–1 2–2
Zob Ahan 2–3 Esteghlal 1–0 1–3
Al-Ain 3–8 Al-Duhail 2–4 1–4
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Tianjin Quanjian 2–2 (a) Guangzhou Evergrande 0–0 2–2
Buriram United 3–4 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–2 0–2
Ulsan Hyundai 1–3 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–0 0–3
Kashima Antlers 4–3 Shanghai SIPG 3–1 1–2

West Region
Al-Jazira 3–2 Persepolis
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 5,821
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Persepolis 2–1 Al-Jazira
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

4–4 on aggregate. Persepolis won on away goals.

Al-Sadd 2–1 Al-Ahli
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 3,613
Al-Ahli 2–2 Al-Sadd
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 24,150
Referee: Fu Ming (China)

Al-Sadd won 4–3 on aggregate.

Zob Ahan 1–0 Esteghlal
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 10,160
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)
Esteghlal 3–1 Zob Ahan
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 75,680
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Esteghlal won 3–2 on aggregate.

Al-Ain 2–4 Al-Duhail
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 7,124
Al-Duhail 4–1 Al-Ain
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 6,853

Al-Duhail won 8–3 on aggregate.

East Region
Guangzhou Evergrande 2–2 Tianjin Quanjian
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 48,632

2–2 on aggregate. Tianjin Quanjian won on away goals.

Buriram United 3–2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 10,382
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–0 Buriram United
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 11,218

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 4–3 on aggregate.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–0 Ulsan Hyundai
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 3,176

Suwon Samsung Bluewings won 3–1 on aggregate.

Kashima Antlers 3–1 Shanghai SIPG
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 8,860
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Shanghai SIPG 2–1 Kashima Antlers
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 19,697

Kashima Antlers won 4–3 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Summary

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 23 May 2018.[5] In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Esteghlal 3–5 Al-Sadd 1–3 2–2
Al-Duhail 2–3 Persepolis 1–0 1–3
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Kashima Antlers 5–0 Tianjin Quanjian 2–0 3–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–3 (2–4 p) Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–3 3–0 (a.e.t.)

West Region
Esteghlal 1–3 Al-Sadd
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 78,116
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Al-Sadd 2–2 Esteghlal
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 6,462

Al-Sadd won 5–3 on aggregate.

Al-Duhail 1–0 Persepolis
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 6,650
Referee: Mohanad Qassim (Iraq)
Persepolis 3–1 Al-Duhail
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 71,312

Persepolis won 3–2 on aggregate.

East Region
Kashima Antlers 2–0 Tianjin Quanjian
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 13,634
Tianjin Quanjian 0–3 Kashima Antlers
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 8,718

Kashima Antlers won 5–0 on aggregate.

3–3 on aggregate. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won 4–2 on penalties.

Semi-finals

Summary

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Sadd 1–2 Persepolis 0–1 1–1
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Kashima Antlers 6–5 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–2 3–3

West Region
Al-Sadd 0–1 Persepolis
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 9,087
Persepolis 1–1 Al-Sadd
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 81,350

Persepolis won 2–1 on aggregate.

East Region
Kashima Antlers 3–2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 13,044
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–3 Kashima Antlers
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 10,296

Kashima Antlers won 6–5 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the East Region, second leg hosted by team from the West Region) reversed from the previous season's final.

Kashima Antlers 2–0 Persepolis
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 35,022
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Persepolis 0–0 Kashima Antlers
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Kashima Antlers won 2–0 on aggregate.

Notes
  1. The Tianjin Quanjian v Kashima Antlers match was played in Estádio Campo Desportivo, Macau instead of Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin.[6]

References
  1. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018.
  2. "2018 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  3. "Impressive quarter-finalists promise thrills". AFC. 22 May 2018.
  4. "AFC Champions League 2018 Knockout Stage Official Draw". YouTube. 23 May 2018.
  5. "Quarter-final ties confirmed". AFC. 23 May 2018.
  6. "亚足联官宣权健亚冠主场移师澳门 不在天津举行". Sina Sports. 3 September 2018.
  7. "Geiger to lead ref crew at AFC Champions League semifinal". Major League Soccer. 19 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.