Sasaki’s Stoppage-Time Penalty Keeps Vissel Kobe Top in Yoshida’s Farewell

The result leaves Kobe needing one point from two remaining games to clinch a round-of-16 berth.

Overview

Yoshinori Muto put Kobe ahead in the 18th minute before Chengdu’s Felipe Silva equalised in first-half stoppage time and later scored from the spot.
Daiju Sasaki converted a 90th-minute penalty to secure the 2-2 draw in coach Takayuki Yoshida’s final match before his year-end departure.
Kobe leads the east league phase on 13 points, two clear of second-placed Machida Zelvia with two fixtures to play.
Machida Zelvia rose to second with a 3-1 win over Ulsan HD, featuring goals from Asahi Masuyama, Takuma Nishimura and Oh Se-hun.
Shanghai Port stayed bottom after a 0-0 draw with Johor Darul Ta’zim, with the top eight of the 12-team east phase advancing to a March round of 16 before centralized April rounds in Saudi Arabia.